Application of Fenton oxidation to remediate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-contaminated soil

As a means to remediate soil contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a method is described for effective pretreatment of soil highly contaminated with PAH indicators benzo(a)pyrene (BAP), benzo(b)fluoranthene (BBFT), benzo(k)fluoranthene (BKFT), and dibenz(a,h)anthracene (DIB) at initial concentrations of 62.1, 105.3, 29.0, and 44.2 mg.kg(-1) soil, respectively. Fenton oxidation is applied in which ethanol is added to increase removal of PAHs. Reported are the optimum amounts of ethanol, Fe2+, and H2O2 needed to achieve maximum removal efficiency. Under these optimal conditions, we obtained the following removal efficiencies: BAP, 98.6%; BBFT, 72.9%; BKFT, 97.7%; and DIB, 99.5%. Resultant concentrations of BAP and BKFT satisfied the Canadian soil standard for residential areas (<1 mg.kg(-1)). It is considered that the proposed treatment method can effectively remove PAHs from contaminated soil prior to disposal at industrial waste sites.