SOILACT Surfactant

SOILACT surfactant has been formulated on three principles: high effectiveness, high biodegradability and environmental friendliness in all its active agents. Its formula is specifically designed to act on heavy petroleum-derived hydrocarbons, such as automotive oils and lubricants.

Its main function is the desorption of contaminant particles adsorbed onto the substrate: by reducing surface tension, SOILACT allows the contaminant to mobilise through the aqueous medium as an emulsion, promoting its dispersion and increasing its availability for extraction. After the surfactant is applied, laboratory analyses usually show an increase in TPH concentrations, the result of the emulsion of particles that were previously adsorbed and are now in the dissolved phase, which makes them easier to extract by pumping (especially in Pump & Treatment processes). In addition, by encapsulating the contaminant in smaller micelles, the surface area available for attack by degrading bacteria —when combined with In Situ Biostimulation— and by oxidising agents, in complementary In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) treatments, is increased.

Thanks to this mechanism, SOILACT minimises unexpected peaks in TPH analyses, which are usually caused by the slow leaching of contaminant from the secondary source into the saturated zone.

Its formulation, based on non-ionic surfactants, does not interfere with or damage the cell membrane of indigenous bacteria —preserving their degrading capacity— nor does it interact with the soil's own ions, as cationic surfactants do. This gives it a high degree of mobility between soil particles, ensuring its reach and effectiveness.

SOILACT is supplied in 20 or 25 L jerrycans, 210 L drums or 1,000 L IBC tanks.