Surfactants: Chemistry, Toxicity and Remediation

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Abstract

Surfactant toxicity has aroused a worldwide alert leading to various regulations on its usage and disposal. In this context much concern arises regarding the biodegradability and eco-friendliness of surfactants. Various reviews on surfactant and its toxicity are available; however there is a lack of a concise review covering surfactant types, primary and secondary toxicity of surfactants, evaluating the level of surfactant pollution worldwide. This chapter describes the safety concerns of surfactants on the aquatic system, terrestrial ecosystem and particularly on humans. We present remediation methods to solve surfactant contamination, such as ozonation, UV radiation, catalyst coupled autooxidation. Biological degradation of surfactants is highlighted with reference to the most commonly used anionic detergents sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS). Biodegradation pathways and mechanism are discussed. Green surfactants are presented. Finally the relevance and role of biosurfactants as alternatives to synthetic detergents is described.