Surfactants in sludge-amended agricultural soils: a review.

Fernández Cirelli, Alicia; Ojeda, Carlos; Castro, Mariano; Salgot, Miquel

Surfactants are included in different detergent formulations and are one of the most ubiquitous and important families of organic compounds. Although the generic term applies to a great number of products, 80% of their demand is covered by only ten types of compounds. The global surfactant market volume size is more than 18 million tons per year. Large quantities of surfactants are continuously released into the environment, where they can or cannot be degraded depending on their structure. The alkylbenzenesulphonate (LAS) is the most widely used surfactant. LAS can be degraded under aerobic conditions but is persistent in the environment under anaerobic conditions. Surfactants may enter the terrestrial environment through several routes, with the use of sewage sludge as fertiliser on agricultural land being by far the most important. High concentrations of surfactants and their degradation products may affect the biota. On the other hand, due to their amphiphilic nature, surfactants may interact both with inorganic as well as organic contaminants affecting their bioavailability.

SURFACE active agents; ORGANIC compounds; SEWAGE sludge as fertilizer; SEWAGE disposal; BIOCHEMISTRY

Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2008, Vol 6, Issue 3, p135

1610-3653

Academic Journal

10.1007/s10311-008-0146-1