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Movement of Two Nonionic Surfactants in Wettable and Water-Repellent Soils¹

ABSTRACT

The movement of two nonionic surfactants (Soil Penetrant 3685, Aqua Gro) and their effect on water flow through wettable and water repellent soils was investigated. Surfactant concentrations of 0, 100, 500, 1,000, 1,600, and 3,200 ppm were applied to the top of vertical soil columns and the concentration of surfactant in the column effluent was measured. When the concentration of surfactant in the effluent did not significantly change with time, leaching of the columns with tap water was initiated. Both surfactants affected the hydraulic conductivity of the hydrophobic soil. The conductivity effects appeared to be related to aggregate destabilization, micelle formation, and particle migration, all of which caused a general decrease of flow rates with time. Adsorptive characteristics were found to affect greatly the shape of the effluent concentration versus time curve. Aqua Gro was shown to be more strongly adsorbed and less subject to leaching than was Soil Penetrant. A theoretical model was tested for its ability to qualitatively predict experimental effluent concentrations. Allowing for the spreading effects of dispersion, there was reasonable agreement between most experimental and theoretical values. The behavior and movement of surfactants in soils are a function of adsorption isotherms, mixing or dispersion due to flow velocities, solute concentration, and the physical and chemical characteristics of the porous medium.

¹ Contribution of the Department of Soil Science & Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Riverside 92502. The research leading to this report was supported by the Office of Water Resources Research, USDI, under the Matching Funds program of Public Law 88-379, as amended, and by the University of California, Water Resources Center. It is a part of Office of Water Resources Research Projects no. B-072-CAL and B-141-CAL (Water Resources Center Projects W-206 and W-332).

² Research Assistant, Staff Research Associate, and Professor of Soil Physics, respectively, University of California, Riverside. The senior author currently Assistant Professor of Soil Ecology and Extension Specialist in Natural Resource Development, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada.

Received for publication April 15, 1974. Accepted for publication August 28, 1974.