SOLUBILIZATION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS BY POLY(ETHYLENE OXIDE-PROPYLENE OXIDE) BLOCK COPOLYMER MICELLES - EFFECTS OF POLYMER STRUCTURE

The partitioning behavior of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons between water and micelles formed by poly(ethylene oxide-propylene oxide) block copolymers of varying structure and composition is reported. The micelle-water partition coefficient increased with increasing polypropylene oxide content of the polymer and with molecular weight. The structure of the polymer was important, with linear copolymers solubilizing naphthalene more effectively than branched copolymers. For the three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons studied (naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene) there was a strong correlation between the micelle-water partition coefficient and the octanol-water partition coefficient. The strong solubilizing powers of block copolymer micellar solutions can be exploited to remove and/or recover halogenated and unhalogenated, aromatic, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated coastal, surface, and groundwater sources, and from industrial and domestic effluents.