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Research article2016Peer reviewed

Hot foam for weed control-Do alkyl polyglucoside surfactants used as foaming agents affect the mobility of organic contaminants in soil?

Cederlund, Harald; Börjesson, Elisabet

Abstract

Use of alkyl polyglucosides (APGs) as a foaming agent during hot water weed control may influence the environmental fate of organic contaminants in soil. We studied the effects of the APG-based foaming agent NCC Spuma (C8-C10) on leaching of diuron, glyphosate, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sand columns. We also examined how APG concentration affected the apparent water solubility and adsorption of the herbicides and of the PAHs acenaphthene, acenaphthylene and fluorene. Application of APGs at the recommended concentration of 0.3% did not significantly affect leaching of any of the compounds studied. However, at a concentration of 1.5%, leaching of both diuron and glyphosate was significantly increased. The increased leaching corresponded to an increase in apparent water solubility of diuron and a decrease in glyphosate adsorption to the sand. However, APG addition did not significantly affect the mobility of PAHs even though their apparent water solubility was increased. These results suggest that application of APG-based foam during hot water weed control does not significantly affect the mobility of organic contaminants in soil if used according to recommendations. Moreover, they suggest that APGs could be useful for soil bioremediation purposes if higher concentrations are used.

Keywords

Alkyl polyglucosides (APGs); Glyphosate; Diuron; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Leaching

Published in

Journal of Hazardous Materials
2016, Volume: 314, pages: 312-317
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

      SLU Authors

      • Associated SLU-program

      SLU Plant Protection Network

      UKÄ Subject classification

      Environmental Sciences
      Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
      Soil Science

      Publication identifier

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.04.061

      Permanent link to this page (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/78614