Kinetic Analysis of the Ozonation Process of the Surfactant LAS Considering the Simultaneous Foaming Effect

Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) are able to degrade pollutants into harmless substances. To demonstrate the successful application of AOP to real, polluted effluents, ozonation has been applied for the removal of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS), a surfactant mixture commonly used in detergent formulation. LAS can be identified in a wide range of concentrations, i.e., in domestic wastewater or in the raw effluent of detergent-processing plants. The strongly tensoactive nature of LAS results in a foaming effect that eventually discourages AOP application, especially in the case of ozonation. The primary goal of this research is to analyze the LAS ozonation kinetics, considering the simultaneous effect of foam formation, by the development of a semiempirical model that is mainly based on the foaming phenomenon. Along with foaming, the proposed model also considers LAS removal by ozonation and the inverse phenomenon of LAS formation by redissolution of LAS. To the best of our knowledge, such a finding has not been previously reported. The proposed foaming model has been developed within various pH and LAS concentration values, primarily examining the initial pH value of the effluent due to its significant effect on foaming. The developed model adequately predicts the LAS concentration profiles measured in the liquid during ozonation. Moreover, this approach makes it possible to quantify the incidence of foaming and LAS redissolution during ozonation comparatively, leading to being able to propose the most desirable operating conditions for LAS removal.