doi: 10.18178/ijesd.2019.10.6.1169
Removal of Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn from Contaminated Soil by Using Plant-Based Surfactants, <i>Sapindus mukorossi L</i> (Soapnut) and <i>Acacia Concinna</i> (Shikakai)
Elijah Cbibuzo Ugwu1
,
Bhaskar Sen Gupta2 ,
Adeloye Adebayo2 ,
Nadia Martínez-Villegas3
- 1School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, Water Academy, EGIS 2.02A William Arrol Building, EH144AS Scotland, United Kingdom
- 2School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure & Society, Heriot-Watt University, Water Academy, EGIS 2.02A William Arrol Building, EH144AS Scotland, United Kingdom
- 3IPICyT, Instituto Potosino de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica, Division de Geociencias Aplicadas, Camino a la Presa San Jose No. 2055, Col. Lomas 4a Sec., 78216 San Luis Potosi, SLP, Mexico
Abstract
The performance of two plant-based surfactants in the removal of heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn) from soil was studied ex-situ. Experimental parameters were: six soil-solution ratios (1:10, 1:20, 1:30, 1:40, 1:50 and 1:60), six surfactant concentrations (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6% by mass), seven washing times (2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 24, and 48 hr) and four pH values of the washing solution (3, 4, 5 and 6). In general, removal efficiency increased with an increase in surfactant concentration, time and soil-solution ratio but decreased with increase in the pH of washing solution. The removal of heavy metals was in the following range: Cu, Cd, Zn and Pb for both surfactants reaching up to 90%, 80%, 53% and 52% respectively. The overall performance of the batch washing process indicates that both surfactants were very effective in soil washing. The effectiveness of these surfactants is due to their ability to form micelles and subsequent removal of heavy metals from the soil surface by reducing the interfacial tension. Both surfactants have the advantages of being environment-friendly and cost effective.
Keywords
- Soil washing
- heavy metals
- soapnut
- shikakai
How to Cite
Elijah Cbibuzo Ugwu, Bhaskar Sen Gupta, Adeloye Adebayo, and Nadia Martínez-Villegas, "Removal of Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn from Contaminated Soil by Using Plant-Based Surfactants, <i>Sapindus mukorossi L</i> (Soapnut) and <i>Acacia Concinna</i> (Shikakai)," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 183-187, 2019. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijesd.2019.10.6.1169
Copyright & License
Copyright © 2019 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).