Surfactant-Enhanced Bisphenol A Adsorption Onto Surficial Sediments (SSs)

Surfactants have a significant influence on the adsorption of organic contaminants. In this study, batch equilibrium experiments were conducted to investigate the influences of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB), anionic surfactant sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) and non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 (TX100) on bisphenol A (BPA) adsorption onto surficial sediments (SSs). The results indicated that the application of CTMAB results in a dramatic increase in the adsorption of BPA, the increase being directly proportional to the concentration of CTMAB added, while increasing amount of SDBS led to a less pronounced increase in BPA adsorption. However, BPA exhibited a slight enhanced adsorption onto SSs in the presence of TX100 at high concentrations (>1.0CMC), and a decrease adsorption in the presence of TX100 at low concentrations (<1.0CMC). Moreover, the addition orders of CTMAB have little influence on BPA adsorption onto SSs. The results are hoped to provide a useful insight into describing the transport and fate of BPA in natural environments.