Ultrafiltration of micellar solutions of nonionic surfactants with or without alachlor pesticide

The ultrafiltration behaviour of micellar solutions of two homologue series of nonionic surfactants was investigated. So, crossflow ultrafiltration experiments were performed using micellar solutions of single surfactant and micellar solutions of surfactant containing alachlor pesticide. Flux reduction, flux recovery, concentration polarization and the effectiveness of MEUF for the removal of alachlor were examined. The effect of surfactant hydrophilic to hydrophobic ratio (characterized by the HLB number) as well as the variation of the surfactant concentration on the flux behaviour characteristics were studied. The observed flux decline and flux recovery values were high and the effect was not due to concentration polarization. The rejection of alachlor achieved was in the range 78-89%. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.