| Description |
Surfactants are among the many emerging contaminants that are continuously discharged into the environment through municipal wastewater treatment plants. Sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate are two of the most widely used anionic surfactants. Regular utilization of these chemicals leads to environmental contamination and potentially toxicological impacts, even at low concentrations. Benzalkonium chlorides, and linear alkyl benzene sulfonates are typical cationic surfactants and biocides widely applied in household and industrial products that have been frequently detected as micropollutants in many aquatic environments. Thus, understanding the transformation and fate of these surfactants in engineered water treatment systems is necessary to mitigate their detrimental impacts on the environment and human health. Therefore, this work will investigate these surfactants and attempt to determine (1) the fate of sodium dodecyl sulfate, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfate, and benzalkonium chlorides in water treatment systems, that employ free aqueous chlorine (i.e., HOCl/OCl-) as a disinfectant. their maximum absorbance. Using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultra-violet light detection (i.e., HPLC-UV) and ultra-violet visible (i.e., UV/Vis) spectrophotometry, we will separate, identify, and sodium dodecyl sulfate, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfate, and benzalkonium chlorides. Ultimately, the results of this work will demonstrate how these surfactants react under conditions relevant to water treatment and off insights towards further investigation in surfactant-related research. |
