engleski

Potentiometric Determination of Anionic Surfactants in Surface Waters and Wastewaters

Surfactants are used in almost all branches of industry, in everyday life as home and industrial cleaning compounds, in cosmetics, in pharmaceuticals, in foods, in crop protection, etc. Their waste belongs to the most widespread organic pollutants, representing a global environmental problem, giving thus a great importance for their monitoring in the environment. The existing methodology for the monitoring of anionic and nonionic surfactants in effluents is based on the time-consuming extraction-spectrophotometric procedures connected with numerous drawbacks: considerable chemicals consumption, use and disposal of toxic organic solvents, etc. Potentiometric methods with surfactant sensors (surfactant-selective electrodes) sensitive to the surfactants overcome almost all of these disadvantages offering an attractive alternative to the existing methods. The biggest challenge in surfactant analysis is the determination of low levels in environmental samples. This review outlines the principles of response mechanisms of these sensors and their application for the determination of anionic and nonionic surfactants in surface waters and effluents. Advantages of the use of surfactant-selective electrodes vs. classical methods and their limitations are also outlined. The potentiometric methods mentioned can be used for simple determination of anionic and nonionic surfactants in the Sava River in Zagreb and downstream, at inflow of wastewater from the treatment plants.

anionic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, ion-selective electrodes, potentiometric sensors

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