Industrial Effluent Treatment by Photocatalytic Degradation of Sodium Dodecylbenzensulfonate (DBS)

Abstract

Surfactants in the environment are a prerequisite for the sustainable development of human health and ecosystems. Surfactants are important in daily life in households as well as in industrial cleansing processes. It is important to have a detailed knowledge about their lifetime in the environment, their biodegradability in wastewater treatment plants and in natural waters, and their ecotoxicity. Most of the issues on environmental acceptability focus on the effects on the environment associated with the use and disposal of these surfactants. These effects are taken into account by a risk assessment. The first step in a risk assessment is to estimate the concentrations of surfactants in the environmental compartment of interest, such as wastewater treatment plant effluents, surface waters, sediments, and soils. This estimate is generated either by actual measurement or by prediction via modeling. The measured or predicted concentrations are then compared to the concentrations of surfactant known to be toxic to organisms living in these environmental compartments. There are many situations where industry is producing both heavy metals ions and organic pollutants. Successful treatment of effluents of this type to achieve legislative compliance will depend on whether the heavy metals effect the process of degradation of the organic species and whether the presence of organic molecules hinder the process of removal of heavy metals. Degradation of cationic surfactant was studied with a photolytic cell system. Compressed air was used as oxidant and the temperature was maintained at 25–30°C. Effects of UV source, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) on sodium dodecylbenzensulfonate (DBS) were recorded. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) were used to analyze the rate of degradation of C₂₄H₃₉NaO₅.