EFFECTS OF IRRADIATING PEATS ON THEIR ABILITY TO EXTRACT BTEX AND CADMIUM FROM CONTAMINATED WATER

This paper reports on research designed to investigate the effects of increasing amounts of gamma radiation on the abilities of peats with d ifferent chemical, physical, and microbiological properties to extract gasoline-derived contaminants (BTEX's) and cadmium from water. Unalte red and irradiated peats were slurried under controlled conditions in aqueous solutions of gasoline and of cadmium. All pear types were also examined by various analytical methods for physical, chemical, or mic robiological changes that might have occurred due to the radiation. Ra diation was found to increase BTEX sorption capacity by 10-65%, depend ing on the peat type. A maximum BTEX sorption capacity was reached som ewhere between 4.5 and 6.5 megarads of radiation. The more fibric pear s tended to reach their BTEX sorption maximum more quickly than the mo re sapric peats. In contrast to the hydrocarbons, cadmium sorption cap acity tended to be decreased by radiation, for the more fibric peats ( by as much as 80%); while, the more sapric peat's sorption capacity be came sporadic (i.e. tended to fluctuate with time but showed a slight increase in adsorption by the end of the test). Microbial enumeration analyses showed that the number of microorganisms living within the pe ats was greatly reduced as the dosage of radiation was increased. Addi tionally, pyrolysis GC/MS results showed evidence of significant chemi cal changes in the peats due to radiation; although, these increases a nd decreases in pyrolysis products were not consistent from one peat t ype to another.