Treatment of Fuel-Oil Contaminated Soils by Biodegradable Surfactant Washing Followed by Fenton-Like Oxidation
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 10
Abstract
Among petroleum-hydrocarbon pollutants, fuel-oil is more difficult to treat compared to gasoline and diesel fuel. The objectives of this bench-scale study were to: (1) develop a two-stage remedial system consisting of surfactant washing followed by Fenton-like oxidation process to remediate fuel-oil contaminated soils; (2) evaluate the effects of residual surfactant and soil organic matter (SOM) on the efficiency of Fenton-like oxidation; (3) evaluate the effect of potassium dihydrogen phosphate addition on the stability of and oxidation efficiency; and (4) evaluate the possible oxidation products after the oxidation process. In the surfactant washing stage, biodegradable surfactant, Simple Green (SG) , was applied to flush fuel-oil contaminated soils with initial total petroleum-hydrocarbons (TPHs) concentration of . Results show that approximately 90% of TPH could be removed after washing with 45 pore volumes (PVs) of SG followed by 25 PVs of deionized water, while the soil TPH concentration dropped from 50,000 to . In the Fenton-like oxidation stage with initial soil TPH concentration was approximately , TPH removal efficiency can be significantly increased with increased concentrations. Results also reveal that residual SG and SOM would compete with TPH for oxidants and cause the decrease in oxidation efficiency. An “oxidation-sorption-desorption-oxidation” scheme for soil TPH was observed in this experiment due to the initial sorption of TPH on SOM. Results show that an addition of 2.2 mM of could increase the stability and half-life of , but caused the decrease in TPH removal efficiency. The oxidation potential of Fenton-like process was not capable of completely oxidizing fuel-oil to nontoxic end products. The observed by-products after oxidation process contained carboxyl groups with molecular weights similar to their parent compounds. Results from this study indicate that the two-stage remedial system is a promising technology for fuel-oil contaminated soil treatment.
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Acknowledgments
This project was funded in part by Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in Taiwan (Grant No. UNSPECIFIEDEPA-94-U1U1-04–010). Additional thanks to the personnel of Guan Cheng Environment Technology Protection Co., Ltd., Taiwan for the assistance and support throughout this project.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 10 • October 2009
Pages: 1015 - 1024
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jun 16, 2008
Accepted: Jan 26, 2009
Published online: Apr 3, 2009
Published in print: Oct 2009
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