Changes in Ecological Properties of Petroleum Oil-Contaminated Soil After Low-Temperature Thermal Desorption Treatment

Abstract

Effects of low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) treatment on the ecological properties of soil contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons were assessed. For this purpose, various ecological properties related to soil health and physicochemical properties of the oil-contaminated soil before and after LTTD treatment were investigated. Total petroleum hydrocarbon concentration, electrical conductivity, organic matter, and total nitrogen decreased while water-holding capacity and available P 2 O 5 increased. The soil color was also changed but textural class was not changed after LTTD. The microbial number and dehydrogenase activity increased following LTTD, but there was no significant difference in the β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase activities. Seed germination succeeded after LTTD, but the germination rate was still lower than that in noncontaminated soil as the growth of plants and earthworms was. The results showed that overall soil health related to biological productivity and environmental functions was improved after LTTD and suggested that LTTD could be a better alternative to other harsh remediation methods. However, ecological indicators still show differences to the adjacent non-contaminated level. Therefore, to ensure safe soil reuse, the change in eco-physiochemical properties as well as contaminant removal efficiency during the remediation process should be considered.

Crop production on heavily disturbed soils following crude oil remediation

“…Though many of the spills were relatively small (<10 barrels), nearly all affected agricultural land, including cropland, pastureland, and natural grasslands. The petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) in the crude oil reduce productivity potential of the land (Eom, Rast, Veber, & Vasseur, ; Issoufi, Rhykerd, & Smiciklas, ; Yi, Park, Munster, Kim, & Sung, ), necessitating contaminant removal (i.e., soil remediation) to return to pre‐spill levels. Returning these lands to productivity (i.e., soil reclamation) is crucial for long‐term food security, especially as other important agricultural land in the state is declining in productivity due to salinity and sodicity issues (Seelig, ).…”

Comparative Studies on Remediation Techniques in Laboratory of Soils Contaminated With Liquid Petroleum Products

“…In the present paper there were applied thermal methods of remediation in the laboratory: combustion and thermal desorption and successive extraction with solvents using petroleum ether and benzene. There authors are concerned about testing multiple types of soils [1][2][3][4].…”

Remediation of oil-based drill cuttings using low-temperature thermal desorption

“…This is in agreement with Terefe et al (2008) who suggested that silt-and clay-sized particles formed sand-sized aggregates through a cementing effect at thermal temperatures of 300-500 °C. However, a lower temperature (250 °C) or shorter thermal treatment duration (10 min) may not significantly change the composition of soils as observed by Yi et al (2016). The pH of HOC after LTTD was increased (p < 0.05) and closer to neutral, as compared to base soil and HOC before treatment.…”

“…According to the treatment temperatures, they are classified as low-temperature (100-350 °C) and hightemperature (350-600 °C) thermal desorption by physical separation, and incineration (600-1000 °C) which destroys contaminants (Falciglia et al, 2011). On one hand, limited reusability of residual soil after treatment and high initial setup expenses restrain the practicability of high-temperature thermal desorption (HTTD) (Yi et al, 2016). On the other hand, low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) treatment represents a feasible method for the remediation of oil contaminated soils which both achieves relatively complete remediation and keeps soil health at the maximum extent.…”

“…Pi˜na et al 2002 However, limited reusability of residual soil and high initial setup cost restrain the practicability of high-temperature thermal desorption (HTTD) (Yi et al, 2016). Lowtemperature thermal desorption (LTTD) becomes more attractive in oil-contaminated wastes remediation.…”