In situ decomposition of PAHs in soil and desorption of organic solvents using microwave energy

The decomposition of individual PAH's (benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene , dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benz[a]anthracene, 1-nitropyrene and benzo[f]quino line) in soil in an open vessel using microwave energy is reported. No PAH' s remain in the soil after remediation. An attempt to use C-14-labelled ben zo[a]pyrene to determine the fate of that contaminant on remediation led on ly to the observation of the formation of 0.3% of (CO2)-C-14. None of the o ther decomposition products could be extracted, isolated or quantified. Usi ng a similar procedure, a variety of organic solvents (cyclohexane, 1,1,1-t richloroethane, tetrachloroethylene, benzene, toluene and xylene) could be efficiently desorbed and collected from contaminated soil. These experiment s offer a valid model for the in situ remediation of these pollutants from contaminated soil. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.