Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Oxidation from Concentrates Issued from an Attrition Process of Polluted Soil Using the Fenton Reagent and Permanganate

This study was conducted to determine the optimal conditions for PAH degradation from highly contaminated attrition sludge (PAC) using a Fenton process or successive permanganate (KMnO4) oxidation and Fenton processes. The following parameters were studied to optimize the Fenton oxidation process: the amounts of reactants based on the stoichiometric oxidant demand (SOD), the reactant addition protocol and number of doses, and the solid/liquid ratio (S/L). The results showed that the following conditions were optimum: TS = 30%, 7.5 times SOD, H2O2/Fe2+ ratio = 10, and added five times during 60 min, which allowed the degradation of 43% of total 27 PAHs from the PAC. Successive Fenton and KMnO4 oxidation processes were also tested. PAH degradation using a sequential Fenton process followed by KMnO4 oxidation (or KMnO4 followed by Fenton) was higher than for the use of Fenton or KMnO4 treatment alone. Up to 71% of the total 27 PAHs were degraded when using a combination of both processes. It appeared that the sequential treatment is a viable method for the significant degradation of 27 PAHs from PAC (t value > 2.77).