Pyrolytic remediation of crude oil-contaminated soil

Chan-Ung Kang; Do-Hyeon Kim; Moonis Ali Khan; Rahul Kumar; Seung-Eun Ji; Kung-Won Choi; Ki-Jung Paeng; Sungmin Park; Byong-Hun Jeon

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136498

Pyrolytic remediation of crude oil-contaminated soil

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Apr 15:713:136498. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136498. Epub 2020 Jan 7.

Authors

Chan-Ung Kang¹, Do-Hyeon Kim¹, Moonis Ali Khan², Rahul Kumar³, Seung-Eun Ji¹, Kung-Won Choi¹, Ki-Jung Paeng⁴, Sungmin Park⁵, Byong-Hun Jeon⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222, Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea.
² Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Chemistry, Centre for Bio-Nanotechnology (COBS & H), CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar 125004, India.
⁴ Department of Chemistry and Medical Chemistry, Yonsei University, 1, Yonseidae-gil, Wonju, Gangwon-do 26493, Republic of Korea.
⁵ GNS Engineering Corporation, 38-7, Pungsan-ro 33beon-gil, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do 28395, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222, Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: bhjeon@hanyang.ac.kr.

PMID: 32019011
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136498

Abstract

Deterioration of our terrestrial environment due to decreasing soil quality brought on by crude oil spills and leakages is a major issue. In this study, soil samples were prepared by mixing clay (bentonite) and sand contaminated with 5 and 10 wt% crude oil (in order to study the effect of oil concentration), and weathered in a laboratory to simulate actual contaminated soil. Volatilization of light oil was inhibited in clay rich-soil, resulting in higher contamination after weathering. The efficiency of the pyrolytic treatment was evaluated by comparing the weight change and n-hexane extractable material (HEM) content of the soil samples. The working temperature influenced pyrolysis efficiency more than the reaction time. A residual amount of 0.29-0.61 wt% (below the soil pollution standard) was observed in the samples with high clay content and pollution level (by pyrolysis for 30 min at 400 °C). Infrared analysis of treated soil samples showed a reduction in alkyl functionality (CH), confirming a decrease in hydrophobicity and an improvement in water holding capacity (WHC). Seed germination and plant growth were relatively better in the pyrolyzed soil. The field applicability of the pyrolytic treatment process was confirmed at laboratory and pilot scale, as well as by treating soil samples collected from actual polluted sites.

Keywords: Crude oil; Pyrolysis; Remediation; Soil.