Anthracene Removal and Mineral N Dynamics in a Surfactant-Amended Soil

Surfactants, such as non-ionic Surfynol 485 （ethoxylated 2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5-decyne-4,7-diol）, have been applied to accelerate removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from soil. This study investigated the dissipation of anthracene, and carbon （C） and nitrogen （N） mineralization in soil amended with non-ionic Surfynol 485 at different rates. Soil samples of a Typic Fragiudept taken from Otumba, Mexico were spiked with anthracene at a final concentration of 520 mg kg^-1 dry soil using acetone as solvent, amended with 0.0, 24.9, 49.8 or 124.4 g kg^-1 soil of the surfactant and incubated in the laboratory. The soil not amended with anthracene, acetone and the surfactant was used as a control. Dynamics of C and N and the concentration of anthracene were monitored for 56 d. After 56 d of incubation, 38% of the anthracene was removed from the unamended soil, and 47%, 55% and 66% of the anthracene were removed when 24.9, 49.8 and 124.4 g kg^-1 of the surfactant were applied, respectively. Application of acetone, anthracene or surfactant increased the emission of CO2, but decreased the mineral N compared to the unamended control. Applying the surfactant to the acetone or anthracene-amended soil reduced emission of CO2, but increased the mineral N at the lower application rates of the surfactant. It was found that the application of the non-ionic surfactant increased the bioavailability of anthracene and thus its removal from soil, increased C mineralization, but decreased N miaeralization. Consequently, the application of non-ionic surfactant could be easily used to accelerate the removal of pollutants from hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, but mineral N in the soil would decrease, which might inhibit plant growth.