Chemicals from wastes: compost-derived humic acid-like matter as surfactant.
Compost humic acid-like (cHAL) polymeric matter (MW = 15610), isolated in 12% yield from food and green waste compost, exhibits very good surfactant properties in aqueous solution: i.e., critical micelle concentration (cmc) = 403 mg/L and surface tension at cmc = 36.1 mN/m. Values of cmc are confirmed also by conductivity and phenanthrene solubility measurements. These results, compared with those for other major commercial and research surfactants, propose cHAL as a competitive low-cost biosurfactant.
Dipartimento di Chimica Generale ed Organica Applicata, Università di Torino, 10125 Torino, Italy.
Pierluigi
P
Quagliotto
Enzo
E
Montoneri
Fulvia
F
Tambone
Fabrizio
F
Adani
Roberto
R
Gobetto
Guido
G
Viscardi
D006812:Humic Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D013500:Surface Tension; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*
D006812:Humic Substances; D013501:Surface-Active Agents