Treatment of Composted Soils contaminated with Petroleum Hydrocarbons using Chemical Oxidation followed by Enhanced Aerobic Bioremediation

Abstract

Two different soils that had been composted to treat petroleum hydrocarbons were further treated with chemical oxidation followed by enhanced aerobic bioremediation to degrade residual hydrocarbons, mostly motor oil, that composting did not treat. Composted soils are rich in non-target organic matter that scavenges the chemical and biological amendments intended for degradation of the target contaminants, making composted soils very difficult to treat. Therefore, the design approach was to use chemical oxidation to enhance the biodegradability of the target contaminants in a subsequent step. Modified Fenton chemistry was used for chemical oxidation, and aerobic bioremediation was promoted with an oxygen releasing compound. The results showed a moderate reduction in target hydrocarbon content resulting from the Fenton treatment. However, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD

Effect of alternating bioremediation and electrokinetics on the remediation of n-hexadecane-contaminated soil

“…There has been a wealth of research into improving the remediation efficiency of organic-contaminated soils 1 2 3 4 5 . Traditional bioremediation and biological intensifying measures that have been widely used include the addition of surfactants 6 , exogenous nutrients 7 and chemical oxidants 8 9 and the use of electrokinetics 10 . These techniques aim to provide optimal reaction conditions.…”