Treatment of Gasoline‐Contaminated Soil Using Process Optimized Fenton Oxidation Technique: An Environmental Management and Contamination Mitigation Approach

ABSTRACT Environmental management of petroleum‐contaminated soil is a significant challenge. This study addresses hydrocarbon contamination issues arising from petroleum activities by focusing on the potential application of process‐optimized Fenton‐reactants in treating gasoline‐contaminated soil. Optimization protocols and characterization of soil quality indicators followed standard procedures, with the application of molecular spectroscopy to determine total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content as gasoline. Gasoline‐contamination severely impacted pH (6.70–5.40), conductivity (262–137 μS/cm), phosphorus (8.30 to 6.20 mg/kg), and TPH concentrations (25.0–1400 mg/kg). Soil texture and heavy metals were not significantly affected. Treatment efficiency was monitored by evaluating soil quality indicators, heavy metals, and TPH. pH, conductivity, organic carbon, organic matter, TPH, and metals removal were improved after optimized Fenton‐oxidation treatment, which indicates the effectiveness of the technique. The determined optimal concentration of Fenton‐reactants from the process optimization was 50% v/v H 2 O 2 and 250 mg/L FeSO 4 , at a determined optimal temperature of 30°C and pH 4. The optimized technique yielded excellent results with a significant decrease (92%) in TPH content after 9 h. Kinetics of the remediation process followed a zero‐order mechanism with a rate constant of 120.18 mg/kg hr −1 and a half‐life of 5 h, 49 min. The technique is seen to be effective not only for the removal of gasoline contaminants but also for the restoration of lost soil properties. The application of a well‐harnessed, process‐optimized Fenton‐oxidation approach using the right infrastructure on gasoline‐contaminated soil will help remediation experts in environmental management, protection, and contaminant mitigation.