Health effects, environmental impacts, and photochemical degradation of selected surfactants in water

摘要

Surfactants are depended upon worldwide as cleaning agents. Their usage in such large quantitiesmeans that their waste and the potential for pollution are high. Many studies have been done over thelast three decades encompassing treatment, alternatives to non-biodegradable surfactants, and the environmentalimpact. It has been found that although certain surfactants may not be directly toxic, when theirconcentrations are high in soil, they can act as agents to release toxic pollutants such as polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs). The focus of this study is to review recent advances in the toxicology, the environmentalfate, and the treatment of selected surfactants. In addition, photolytic and photocatalytic degradation oflinear alkylbenzene sulfonate in water is presented.