page_title: Cosolvent
section_title: Remediation
hierarchical_section_title: Cosolvent / In Environmental Chemistry / Remediation
caption_attribution_description: English: The transesterification reaction by which vegetable oils (red) are reacted with alcohol to yield the associated ester (blue) and glyercol (green). The product esters can be used as biofuel for a variety of purposes.
context_page_description: In chemistry, cosolvents are substances added to a primary solvent in small amounts to increase the solubility of a poorly-soluble compound. Their use is most prevalent in chemical and biological research relating to pharmaceuticals and food science, where alcohols are frequently used as cosolvents in water to dissolve hydrophobic molecules during extraction, screening, and formulation. Cosolvents find applications also in environmental chemistry and are known as effective countermeasures against pollutant non-aqueous phase liquids, as well as in the production of functional energy materials and synthesis of biodiesel.
  The topic of cosolvency has attracted attention from many theorists and practicing researchers who seek to predict the solubility of compounds using cosolvent systems, and it is the subject of considerable research in scientific literature. Studies exist to propose and review methods of modeling cosolvency using calculation, to describe empirical correlations of cosolvents and observed solvation phenomena, and to report the utility of cosolvent systems in various fields.
context_section_description: In the context of aqueous pollutant remediation, cosolvents can be used in a variety of functions, including to enhance the performance of surfactants, to increase solubility of a non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL), and to physically mobilize NAPLs by decreasing interfacial tension between aqueous and organic phases. Due to toxicological concerns, the main agents used for remediation are aqueous solutions of 1-5% alcohols by volume, which can be flushed through a polluted site and later extracted from the bulk water. This “cosolvent flooding” (called alcohol flooding when using >5% by volume) is often combined with salinity modification, in situ chemical oxidation, and temperature alteration to provide the most effective methods of removing NAPLs from a water source. In situ flushing is a process by which soil is decontaminated in a similar manner as aqueous environments.
  Complications that arise from using alcohol cosolvents in aqueous remediation include the formation of macroemulsions, desorption of organic contaminants from aquifer solids, and introduction of toxicity, flammability, and explosivity at higher concentrations.
caption: The transesterification reaction by which vegetable oils (red) are reacted with alcohol to yield the associated ester (blue) and glyercol (green). The product esters can be used as biofuel for a variety of purposes.
exif: {}