Environmental Organic Chemistry for Engineers

Chapter 9

Removal of Organic Compounds From the Environment

Abstract

One of the major and continuing environmental problems is contamination resulting from the activities related to industrial processes and products. Contamination of the air, land, and water causes extensive damage of local ecosystems since accumulation of pollutants in animals and plant tissue may cause death or mutations. As a result, once a spill has occurred, every effort must be made to rid the environment of the toxins. The chemicals of known toxicity range in degree of toxicity from low to high and represent considerable danger to human health and must be removed (Frenzel et al., 2009). Many of these chemical substances come in contact with, and are sequestered by, ...