ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses five surfactant-based separations to treat aqueous process streams. Surfactant-based separation process is emerging as a major class of unit operation for industrial separations. Dissolved toxic organics or heavy metals can be removed from aqueous wastewaters without introducing substantial toxicity from residual surfactant. When surfactants are present in aqueous solutions at concentrations above the critical micelle concentration, surfactant is present in two possible states: as unaggregated monomer or as constituents of micelles. The solubilization into micelles can be viewed conceptually as being similar to extraction of a dissolved organic from an aqueous phase into an immiscible extractant phase. The surfactant chosen should be oppositely charged to the protein at the pH of the aqueous phase. At the isoelectric point of the protein, and for increasing electrolyte concentration, the protein tends to transfer from the reverse micelle back into the aqueous phase.
