Fenton-Like Oxidation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils Using Electrokinetics
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 10
Abstract
An integrated electrochemical oxidation process that utilizes electrokinetics (EK) to deliver the oxidant (5–10% hydrogen peroxide, ) and chelant [40 mM of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)] or iron chelate (1.4 mM Fe-EDTA or Fe-DTPA) to oxidize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils was investigated. Batch and bench-scale EK experiments were conducted using: (a) kaolin, a low permeability clayey soil, spiked with phenanthrene at 500 mg/kg, and (b) former manufactured gas plant (MGP) soil, a high buffering silty soil, contaminated by a variety of PAHs (1493 mg/kg). Batch experiments showed that chelant solutions dissolve native iron minerals to form soluble Fe-chelates that remain available even at higher pH conditions of soil for the Fenton-like oxidation of the PAHs. In EK experiments, a 5–10% solution was delivered from the anode and a chelant solution or iron-chelate was delivered from the cathode. Preflushing of soil with 5% ethanol and ferrous sulfate (1.4 mM) prior to oxidant delivery was also investigated. An electric potential of 2 VDC/cm was applied in all tests to induce electroosmotic flow for 5–8 days for kaolin and 25 days for the MGP field soil. In the absence of any chelating agent, phenanthrene oxidation was catalyzed by native iron present in kaolin soil, and 49.8–82.3% of phenanthrene was oxidized by increasing concentration from 5–10%. At 5% concentration, phenanthrene oxidation was not increased by using 40 mM EDTA, 40 mM DTPA or 1.4 mM Fe-DTPA, but it increased to 70% using 1.4 mM Fe-EDTA. Maximum phenanthrene oxidation (90.5%) was observed by 5% ethanol preflushing and then treating with 5% at the anode and 1.4 mM Fe-EDTA at the cathode. However, preflushing with 1.4 mM ferrous sulfate did not improve phenanthrene oxidation. The results with the MGP field soil indicated that delivery of 5% alone resulted in oxidation of 39.8% of total PAHs (especially 2- and 3-ring PAHs). The use of EDTA and Fe-EDTA did not increase PAHs oxidation in this soil. Overall, the results reveal that an optimized in situ combined technology of EK and Fenton-like process has the potential to oxidize PAHs in low permeability and/or high buffering soils.
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Acknowledgments
This project was funded by the Technology Challenge Grant from the State of Illinois. The writers are thankful to Surendra Kumar, Craig Chawla, Saurabh Sharma, and Andreas Jazdanian for their assistance in this project.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 10 • October 2009
Pages: 1429 - 1439
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
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Received: Aug 25, 2007
Accepted: Mar 3, 2009
Published online: Mar 5, 2009
Published in print: Oct 2009
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