Organoclay with Surfactants: Detoxification of Hazardous Compounds

The synthesis of organoclaysOrganoclay by intercalationIntercalation of surfactantsSurfactants and their application for environmental remediationRemediation has attracted a great deal of attention recently. Organoclays have demonstrated promising sorption capacities for a variety of organic compounds, particularly hydrophobic chemicals, as well as for inorganic metals and anions. There are still some gaps in our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying the synthesis of organoclaysOrganoclay and contaminant removal by these substances. In this context, this chapter gives an overview of the preparation, applications, and limits of organoclay materials in environmental remediationRemediation. This work revealed that the sorption efficiency depends on the nature of the organoclayOrganoclay, type of pollutant, pH, contact time, and concentration of pollutant. The adsorptionAdsorption of pollutants on organoclayOrganoclay is governed by a variety of mechanisms, depending on the type of pollutant and the physicochemical characteristics of the organoclay, including hydrophobic interactions, ion exchange, and electrostatic interactionsElectrostatic interaction. Despite the wealth of knowledge on the formation, characteristics, and application of organoclaysOrganoclay as adsorbentsAdsorbents, some problems remain unresolved. The use of organoclaysOrganoclay seems to be restricted to batch experiments and has not yet been researched under dynamic conditions that would reduce the efficiency of adsorption which indicates the need for pilot and field scale studies to evaluate the efficacy of modified organoclaysOrganoclay in removing contaminants under various environmental conditions in the future.