Remediation of oil-contaminated soil using Fe/Cu nanoparticles and biosurfactants

Oil (or petroleum), consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons, can leak from oil exploration, production, and use. Due to their complex mixture and interaction with the subsurface soil and water, they are hard to treat and can become a significant environmental concern. Rhamnolipid and sophorolipid bi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental technology 2023-10, Vol.44 (22), p.3446-3458
Main Authors: Vu, Kien A., Mulligan, Catherine N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
biosurfactant
Biosurfactants
Contaminated soil
Copper
Efficiency
Environmental perception
Hydrocarbons
Ionic strength
Iron
Mixtures
nanomaterials
Nanoparticles
Oil and gas exploration
Oil exploration
Oil pollution
Oil removal
Petroleum
Petroleum hydrocarbons
remediation
Rhamnolipids
Room temperature
Shaking
Soil contamination
Soil pollution
Soil remediation
Soil water
Surfactants
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Summary:Oil (or petroleum), consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons, can leak from oil exploration, production, and use. Due to their complex mixture and interaction with the subsurface soil and water, they are hard to treat and can become a significant environmental concern. Rhamnolipid and sophorolipid biosurfactants, biologically produced surfactants, can be used to remove petroleum hydrocarbons. Nanoparticles have gained attention as promising materials for soil remediation. In this study, suspensions of Fe-Cu nanoparticles and biosurfactants were employed for the remediation of oil-contaminated soil. The results showed that these suspensions displayed a high oil removal rate from contaminated soil, which followed the first-order reaction. For batch experiments, the oil remediation efficiency was up to 84%. Optimum conditions to achieve the highest oil remediation performance included a rhamnolipid biosurfactant: nanoparticle ratio of 10:1 (wt%: wt%), pH 7, room temperature, and shaking speed of 60 rpm for 60 min. The remediation rate was improved by higher temperature and lower ionic strength. In the presence and absence of nanoparticles, rhamnolipid biosurfactant demonstrated a higher remediation efficiency than sophorolipid biosurfactant and ultraplex surfactant. The presence of other surfactants decreased the treatment productivity by 9-14% compared to using only rhamnolipid biosurfactant. Nanoparticles were reused with a remediation efficiency of 59% after three cycles by rhamnolipid biosurfactant. These results suggested that biosurfactants/Fe-Cu nanoparticle suspension showed promise for the remediation of oil-contaminated soil.
ISSN:0959-3330
1479-487X
DOI:10.1080/09593330.2022.2061381