Phase Behavior of Tweens/Toluene/Water Microemulsion Systems for the Solubilization Absorption of Toluene

The purpose of the present study was to formulate microemulsion systems comprised of polyoxyethelene sorbitan ester surfactants (Tweens) + cosurfactant + water + oil (toluene) and to investigate their potential use as absorbents for the removal of toluene from air. Toluene is an example of a volatile organic compound (VOC). The microemulsions formed are stabilized by the nonionic surfactants (Tweens) and toluene. The results indicate that Tween-60 is superior to other Tween surfactants, and the optimum value for the hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) is 15. The performances of the cosurfactants followed the order n-butylamine>alcohol>butyric acid. The experimental results showed that the HLB value is more meaningful than the Bansal, Shah, O’Connell (BSO) equation for representing microemulsion systems. Comparative tests of this new absorbent system were performed in a double-stirred reactor, and the experimental absorption results were consistent with the phase diagram. Nonionic surfactant microemulsions have a significant absorption enhancement for toluene, as indicated by as much as 80.81% of toluene being present in the phase composition diagram, which thus have great prospects in air pollution remediation.