Degradation of Benzo(a)pyrene in Ethanol Washing Solution of Contaminated Soil by Hybrid Treatment

Abstract

As a means to remediate benzo (a) pyrene [B (a) P] in ethanol used in washing B (a) P-contaminated soil, we investigated hybrid treatment (i. e., Fenton oxidation-microbial degradation) of concentrated B (a) P in ethanol (i. e., 62.3—108.5 mg L^-1), where more than 99.8% of B (a) P was removed under a pseudo-first order reaction by Fenton oxidation. GC-MS and HPLC-UV analysis identified B(a) P-1, 6-, -3, 6-, and -6,12-dione as Fenton oxidation products, all of which are known to have lower toxicity than B (a) P. After Fenton oxidation, microbial treatment demonstrated that B (a) P-1,6-, -3,6-, and -6,12-dione are more easily degraded than B (a) P. These results indicate that the proposed hybrid treatment can be effectively applied to remediate B (a) P in ethanol washing solution.