Surfactant-Enhanced Washing of Soils Contaminated with Wasted-Automotive Oils and the Quality of the Produced Wastewater

Montserrat Zacarias-Salinas, Mabel Vaca, Miguel A. Flores, Erick R. Bandala, Luis G. Torres

Departamento de Ingeniería Civil y Ambiental Escuela de Ingeniería, Universidad de las Américas-Puebla. Sta. Catarina Mártir, Cholula, Puebla, México.
Laboratorio de Calidad de Agua y Residuos, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Unidad Azcapotzalco México.
UPIBI-Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Av. Acueducto s.n. Colonia Barrio la Laguna Ticomán. México DF, México.

DOI: 10.4236/jep.2013.412171                

Abstract

An old automotive industrial site located at Mexico City with many years of operation and contaminated with heavy oil hydrocarbons, particularly spent oils, was assessed for restoration using the surfactant enhanced soil washing (SESW) process. The main goal of this study was to characterize the contaminated soil in terms of TPHs, BTEX, PAHs, and metals contents as well as microbiologically (total heterotrophs and specific degrading microorganisms). We also aimed to determine the surfactant type and concentration to be used in the SESW process for the automotive waste oil contaminated soil. At the end, sixteen kg of contaminated soil were washed and the produced wastewater (approximately 40 L) was characterized in terms of COD, BOD; solids, and other physico-chemical parameters. The soil contained about 14,000 mg of TPH/kg soil (heavy fraction), 0.13 mg/kg of benzo (k) fluoranthene and 0.07 mg/kg of benzo (a) pyrene as well as traces of some metals. Metals concentrations were always under the maximum concentration levels suggested by Mexican regulations. 15 different surfactants were used to identify the one with the capability to achieve the highest TPH removal. Surfactants included 5 anionics, 2 zwitterionic, 5 nonionics and 3 natural gums. Sulfopon 30 at a concentration of 0.5% offered the best surfactant performance. The TPH removals employing the different surfactants were in the range from 38% to 68%, in comparison to the soil washing with water (10% of TPH removal). Once the surfactant was selected, 70 kg of soil were washed and the resulting water contained approximately 1300 mg/L of COD, 385 mg/L of BOD (BOD/COD = 0.29), 122 mg/L of MBAS, and 212 mg/L of oil and greases, among other contaminants.

Keywords

Wasted Automotive Oils; Surfactants; Soil Washing; Waste Water

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	S. Paria, “Surfactant-Enhanced Remediation of Organic Contaminated Soil and Water,” Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 138, No. 1, 2007, pp. 24-58.
[2]	L. G. Torres, J. L. Orantes and R. Iturbe, “Three Surfactants CMC and Diesel Removal Efficiencies from Highly Contaminated Sandy Soils Environment,” Geoscience, Vol. 1, 2003, pp. 28-36.
[3]	L. G. Torres, J. Orantes and L. R. Iturbe, “Biodegradation of Two Nonionic Surfactants Used for in Situ Flushing of Oil-Contaminated Soils,” Environmental Chemistry, Vol. 43, No. 5, 2006, pp. 251-255.
[4]	E. R. Bandala, Y. Velasco and L. G. Torres, “Decontamination of Soil Washing Wastewater Using Solar Driven Advanced Oxidation Processes,” Hazardous Materials, Vol. 160, No. 2, 2008, pp. 402-407. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.03.011http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.03.011
[5]	M. M. Parnian and S. Ayatollahi, “Surfactant Remediation of LNAPL Contaminated Soil; Effects of Adding Alkaline and Foam Producing Substances,” Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2008, pp. 34-44.
[6]	R. Iturbe, R. M. Flores, C. Flores and L. G. Torres, “TPHContaminated Mexican Refinery Soil: Health Risk Assessment and the First Year of Changes,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 91, No. 1, 2004, pp. 237-255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:EMAS.0000009239.55534.08
[7]	W. Chu, “Remediation of Contaminated Soils by Surfactant-Aided Soil Washing,” Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste Management, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2003, pp. 19-24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-025X(2003)7:1(19)
[8]	L. G. Torres, X. Lemus, G. Urquiza, A. Verdejo and R. Iturbe, “Surfactant Enhanced Washing of Drilling Fluids, a Promising Remediation Technique, Tenside Surfactant,” Detergent, Vol. 46, 2005, pp. 347-355.
[9]	M. Han, G. Ji and J. Ni, “Washing of Fuel Weathered Crude Oil Contaminated Soil with an Environmentally Compatible Surfactant, Alkyl Polyglucoside,” Chemosphere, Vol. 76, No. 5, 2009, pp. 579-586. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2009.05.003
[10]	K. Urum and T. Pakdemir, “Evaluation of Biosurfactant for Crude Oil Contaminated Soil Washing,” Chemosphere, Vol. 57, No. 9, 2004, pp. 1139-1150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.07.048
[11]	L. Chin-Chi, H. Yi-Chien, W. Yu-Hong and C. Jo-Chu, “Biosurfactant-Enhanced Removal of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons from Contaminated Soil,” Hazardous Materials, Vol. 167, No. 1-3, 2009, pp. 609-614. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.01.017
[12]	A. Kalali, T. Ebadi, A. Rabbani and S. S. Moghaddam, “Response Surface Methodology Approach to the Optimization of Oil Hydrocarbon Polluted Soil Remediation Using Enhanced Soil Washing,” Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2011, pp. 389-400.
[13]	E. Tiezzi, C. A. Brebbia, S. E. Jorgensen and D. A. Gomar, “Ecosystems and Sustainable Development V,” WIT Press, Southampton, Boston, 2005.
[14]	E. Zamudio, “Biological Treatment of Wastewater Generated in the Washing of Soil Contaminated with Petroleum Hydrocarbons,” M.Sc. Thesis, Biotechnology Interdisciplinary Professional, 2010.
[15]	A. H. Bogardt and B. B. Hemmingsen, “Enumeration of Phenentrene-Degrading Bacteria by and Overlayer Technique and Its Use in Evaluation of Petroleum-Contaminated Sites,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 1992, pp. 2579-2582.
[16]	A. Hernández-Espriú, E. Sánchez-León, P. Martínez-Santos and L. G. Torres, “Remediation of Diesel-Contaminated Soil from a Pipeline Accidental Spill: Enhanced Biodegradation and Soil Washing Processes Using Natural Gums and Surfactants,” Journal of Soils and Sediments, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2013, pp. 152-165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0599-5
[17]	E. Zamudio-Pérez, M. Vaca, E. R. Bandala, L. C. Fernandez and L. G. Torres, “Integrated Surfactant Enhanced Washing of a Soil Highly Contaminated with Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Treatment of the Generated Wastewaters Using an Aerobic Biofilter,” Chemosphere, 2013.
[18]	E. R. Bandala, J. B. Tiro, M. Luján, J. L. Sánchez-Salas and L. G. Torres, “Hydrocarbon Removal and Toxicity Reduction from Oil Industry Wastewater Using a Packed Aerobic Biofilter,” Journal of Water and Health, 2013
[19]	L. G. Torres, C. Belloc, M. Vaca, R. Iturbe and E. Bandala, “Coagulation-Flocculation Process Applied to Waste Waters Generated in Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soil Washing: Interactions among Coagulant and Flocculant Concentrations and pH Value,” Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A, Vol. 44, No. 13, 2009, pp. 1449-1456. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10934520903217716
[20]	T. T. Tsai, C. M. Kao, R. Y. Surampalli and S. H. Liang, “Treatment of Fuel-Oil Contaminated Soils by Biodegradable Surfactant Washing Followed by Fenton-Like Oxidation,” Environmental Engineering, Vol. 135, No. 10, 2009, pp. 1015-1024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000052