TREATMENT OF PETROLEUM-CONTAMINATED SOILS USING IRON MINERAL CATALYZED HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE

Naturally-occurring iron minerals, goethite and magnetite, were used t o catalyze hydrogen peroxide and initiate Fenton-like reaction of sili ca sand contaminated with diesel and/or kerosene in batch system. Opti mum reaction conditions were investigated by varying H2O2 concentratio ns (0, 1, 7, 15, and 35 wt%) and iron mineral contents (0, 1, 5 and 10 wt%). Contaminant degradation in silica sand-iron mineral-H2O2 system was identified by determining total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) conce ntration with gas chromatography. Iron mineral system was less aggress ive in contaminant degradation but it was more efficient than FeSO4 sy stem. Magnetite system provided more strong oxidation condition than g oethite system due to coexistence of Fe+2 and Fe+3 and dissolution of iron. The results indicate that iron mineral catalyzed H2O2 system wou ld have a promising application to site remediation since natural soil s generally contain 0.5-5 wt% of iron minerals. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scie nce Ltd. All rights reserved.