Composition of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">n</i>-dedocyl polyglucoside based middle phase microemulsions in surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation

Abstract

The composition and solubilization power of the middle phase microemulsion formed by<i> n</i>-dodecyl polyglucoside (APG)/ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">n</i>-butanol/water/non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) quaternary system have been studied. The hydrophile-lipophile balanced (HLB) plane equation for the quaternary system has been deduced. Some physicochemical parameter, such as the mass fraction of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">n</i>-butanol in the HLB interfacial layer, the coordinates of the start and end points of the middle phase microemulsion, the mass fractions of APG and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">n</i>-butanol in the total system, and the solubilities of APG and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">n</i>-butanol in oil phase are calculated. The washing liquids prepared according to the physicochemical parameters of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">n</i>-dodecyl polyglucoside based middle-phase microemulsion have been used to wash the NAPLs adsorbed on soil. The results indicate that the APG based middle phase microemulsion is suitable in surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation.