Removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water using mixtures of olive oil, lecithin, and vitamin E as phase transfer agents

Two methods to remove VOCs from water using the natural food additive, lecithin, assisted by olive oil or vitamin E were explored. Lecithin combined with olive oil was utilized in a phase exchange and solvent extraction process to remove VOCs from water into the olive oil layer. The addition of 0.5 ppm of lecithin together with the olive oil were found to be sufficient to remove halogenated and aromatic VOCs completely; however, the method was less efficient against ketones and esters due to their better water solubility and smaller molecular mass in comparison to other VOCs tested. The second method involved combining lecithin with vitamin E to produce an aqueous suspension of micelles that facilitated the removal of VOCs from water into the micelles, with the optimal ratio of lecithin to vitamin E found to be 82:18 w/w. The overall removal of VOCs from water using lecithin/vitamin E micelles was not as effective as lecithin/olive oil layers due to the problems faced when removing lecithin from the samples.