Effectiveness of Humic Acids, Fulvic Acids and lechuguilla extract (Agave lechuguilla), as biosurfactants in the Remediation of soils contaminated with Hydrocarbons

Abstract

The environmental pollution caused by oil and its derivatives is recognized as one of the most serious problems. Once spilled on the ground, most aliphatic compounds volatilize, while other hydrocarbons such as polycyclics persist on the surface causing an impact on the environment and living beings. There are a variety of techniques for treatment, but they have the disadvantage of being expensive, so viable alternatives have been sought such as bioremediation, which consist of making use of microorganisms and constitutes a very competitive technology, capable of achieving the biodegradation of hydrocarbons contained in the soils. Depending on the characteristics of the soil and the content of organic matter, the hydrocarbons of higher molecular weight and lower solubility can adsorb in the micropores of the soil particles, resulting in this being inaccessible as carbon and energy sources for the microorganisms. Therefore, surfactant agents that act by increasing bioavailability through the parallel action of the desorption and solubilization of the contaminant are required. This article compares 3 surfactant agents of natural origin, which analyze and discuss the effectiveness of each of them for the treatment of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons. Once the lechuguilla extract is obtained in cold and hot, the soil is washed, fats and oils are determined by soxhlet method and the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is determined, finding a marked effectiveness of the cold lechuguilla extract (Agave lechuguilla).