Efficiency of Hydrogen Peroxide and Fenton Reagent for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation in Contaminated Soil: Insights from Experimental and Predictive Modeling

Abstract

This study investigates the degradation kinetics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the Fenton process (H2O2/Fe2+). The effect of oxidant concentration and the Fenton molar ratio on PAH decomposition efficiency is examined. Results reveal that increasing H2O2 concentration above 25 mmol/samples leads to a slight increase in the rate constants for both first- and second-order reactions. The Fenton process demonstrates higher efficiency in PAH degradation compared to H2O2 alone, achieving decomposition yields ranging from 84.7% to 99.9%. pH evolution during the oxidation process influences PAH degradation, with alkaline conditions favoring lower elimination rates. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis indicates significant elimination of PAHs after treatment, with both oxidants showing comparable efficacy in complete hydrocarbon degradation. The mechanisms of PAH degradation by H2O2 and the Fenton process involve hydroxyl radical formation, with the latter exhibiting greater efficiency due to Fe2+ catalysis. Gaussian process regression (GPR) modeling accurately predicts reduced concentration, with optimized ARD-Exponential kernel function demonstrating superior performance. The Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer algorithm facilitates optimization of reaction conditions, yielding a high degree of agreement between experimental and predicted values. A MATLAB 2022b interface is developed for efficient optimization and prediction of C/C0, a critical parameter in PAH degradation studies. This integrated approach offers insights into optimizing the efficiency of oxidant-based PAH remediation techniques, with potential applications in contaminated soil remediation.

Preliminary Investigation of Astragalus arpilobus subsp. hauarensis: LC-MS/MS Chemical Profiling, In Vitro Evaluation of Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory Properties, Cytotoxicity, and In Silico Analysis against COX-2

“…With over 2500–3000 annual and perennial species spread throughout all continents, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, Western North America, South America, Central Asia, and tropical East Africa, Astragalus is arguably the largest and most common genus of vascular plants on Earth. Astragalus grows throughout North Africa and the Mediterranean in many different varieties; 15 species are reported in Algeria’s Sahara [ 13 ].…”