Optimisation of Polycyclic AromaticHydrocarbon Removal from Contaminated Soilusing Modified Fenton Treatment

The performance of modified Fenton (MF) treatment to promote PAH oxidation in artificially contaminated soil was investigated in packed soil column with a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) delivery system simulating in situ injection. Soil samples were spiked with phenanthrene (low molecular weight PAH) and fluoranthene (high molecular weight PAH) to an initial concentration of 500 mg/kg dried soil each. The effectiveness of process parameters H2O2/soil, iron/soil, chelating agent/soil weight ratios and reaction time were studied using a 24 three level factorial design experiments. Statistically significant quadratic models were developed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for degrading PAHs from the soil samples. Optimum operating condition was achieved at mild range of H2O2/soil, iron/soil and chelating agent/soil weight ratios, indicating cost efficient method for treating highly contaminated lands.

Authors:

• Venny
• S. Gan
• H. K. Ng

Keywords:

• Fenton
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
• chelate
• response surface methodology

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