ZAROOK SHAREEFDEEN, LAYAN HADDAD AND HUSSAIN AHMED
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from industries such as metal finishing, chemical manufacturing, textile factories, petrochemical processing, petroleum refining, pesticide plants etc. are highly toxic and harmful to health and the environment. Environmental regulations have become stringent and industries strive to find efficient and environmentally sustainable VOC control methods to meet the enforced emission standards. Classical (i.e., absorption, activated adsorption etc.) and biological VOC control methods (i.e., biofiltration, bioscrubbing, biotricling etc.) are dependent on mass transfer of VOC pollutants into liquid medium such as water or absorbing agent. In recent years, application of surfactants in combination with advanced and conventional VOC control technologies has proven to eliminate mass transfer limitations. In this work, surfactants with respect to their potential use for VOC removal, the parameters that affect VOC removal, and the environmental implications related to the use, reuse and regeneration of surfactants are discussed.