Application of <i>In Situ</i> Chemical Oxidation for the Remediation of TPH-Contaminated Soils

Soils at many existing and former industrial areas and disposal sites are contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons. In this study, laboratory bench-scale experiments were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of applying in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) on the treatment of petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated soils. Three different oxidation processes including Fenton’s oxidation, persulfate oxidation, and permanganate oxidation were evaluated with initial total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration of approximately 3,920 mg/kg. The major control factors were oxidant species (hydrogen peroxide, persulfate, permanganate) and soil to liquid volume ratios (1 to 3). The oxidant concentration was 5 wt.%. Ferrous iron was used as the catalyst during the Fenton’s oxidation and persulfate oxidation processes, and the oxidant to ferrous iron molar ratio was 1 to 0.1. Among these three oxidation processes, contaminated soils treated by permanganate oxidation had the highest TPH removal efficiency (94% of TPH removal) during 360 min of operation. Approximately 75 and 61% of TPH removal was observed in batch experiments applying Fenton’s oxidation and persulfate oxidation, respectively. Due to the consumption of ferrous iron (used as the catalytic chemical) in the early stage during the operational period, both persulfate and Fenton’s oxidation processes had less TPH removal efficiencies. Frequent supplement of catalyst is required when persulfate and Fenton’s oxidation is applied for field application. Results from this study indicate that the ISCO scheme is a feasible technology for the treatment of petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated soils within a short treatment period. The experimental results can be used for a scale-up system for practical application.