Inclusion of vegetable oils in Fenton's chemistry for remediation of PAH-contaminated soils

Chemosphere. 2003 Jan;50(1):15-21. doi: 10.1016/s0045-6535(02)00490-3.

Abstract

Pre-treatment with vegetable oils prior to treatment with Fenton's reagent led to increased oxidation by the latter of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a pair of model manufactured gas plant soils. This effect was frequently most pronounced in the cases of high-molecular-weight (HMW) PAH species, indicating a preferential "targeting" of oxidative equivalents toward these compounds. In both cases, addition of oils--either corn oil containing unsaturated lipids or palm kernal oil (PKO) comprised primarily of saturated fats--at the 5% dosage was required; supplementation with 1% oil apparently did not sufficiently facilitate PAH desorption and mass-transfer to have a notable effect on degradation efficiency. In PKO-supplemented reactions, replacement of H2O2 with calcium peroxide (CaO2) further increased the extent of PAH removal. Again, this was most pronounced in the cases of several HMW PAHs; among a suite of four 5- and 6-ring PAH (benzo[a]pyrene, dibenz[a, h]anthracene, benzo[g, h, i]perylene and indeno[c, d]pyrene), average removal efficiency increased from 5% in PKO-supplemented reactions in which H2O2 served as the oxidant, compared to 44% in CaO2-containing reactions. This last finding is consistent with other reports which have indicated that slower-release oxidants are better suited to degradation of contaminants which, despite vegetable oil treatment, remain soil-sorbed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Chemical Industry
  • Hydrogen Peroxide / chemistry*
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Iron / chemistry*
  • Molecular Weight
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Peroxides / chemistry
  • Plant Oils / chemistry*
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / chemistry*
  • Soil Pollutants* / analysis*
  • Solubility

Substances

  • Fenton's reagent
  • Peroxides
  • Plant Oils
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
  • Soil Pollutants
  • calcium peroxide
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Iron