Abstract
In a previous study, it was determined that nonionic surfactants could be removed from wastewater using the typical soil. In this report, the recovery of nonionic surfactants was examined with the purpose of reusing the removed surfactants. It was found that a packed bed of soil employed with the nonionic surfactants and the use of alcohol as the recovery agent was most effective. In the case of polyoxyethylenenonylphenylether NP10 (50 ppm), 50 vol% i-PrOH was found to be the most effective for the recovery process. This resulted in a recovery rate of 100%. The following recovery rate was recorded in descending order of i-PrOH>t-BuOH>n-PrOH, EtOH>MeOH. Also, the maximum recovery value resulted between each of the 5 alcohol concentration and their respective recovery rates. The recovery rate of the nonionic surfactants of a low concentration was decreased. In addition, the recovery rate of nonionic surfactants decreased as the mole numbers of the added ethyleneoxide units increased for the nonionic surfactants NP10, NP15 and NP20.
