Fenton's in-situ reagent chemical oxidation of hydrocarbon contamination in soil and groundwater

Abstract Industry and regulatory demands for rapid and cost‐effective clean up of hydrocarbon and other contamination in soil and groundwater has prompted development and improvement of in‐situ remediation technologies. In‐situ technologies offer many advantages over ex‐situ treatment alternatives, including lower initial capital and long‐term operation and maintenance costs, less site disruption, no Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) liability, and shorter treatment time necessary to achieve cleanup objectives. Fenton's reagent, a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and ferrous iron that generates a hydroxyl free radical as an oxidizing agent, is widely accepted for chemical oxidation of organic contaminants in the wastewater industry. In‐situ implementation of Fenton's reagent for chemical oxidation of organic contaminants in soil and groundwater continues to grow in acceptance and application to a wide variety of environmental contaminants and hydrogeologic conditions (EPA, 1998).