Remediation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Contaminated Soils using nanomagnetite in Modified Fenton Process

In this study, the Anthracene is removed from contaminated soils by a modified Fenton oxidation method at neutral PH using nanomagnetite as an efficient oxidation promoter catalyst. The efficiency of removal of Anthracene at an initial concentration of 2500 mg/kg was 98% at the following reaction condition: H2O2 (0.2ml) and nanomagnetite catalyst (8 mg), PH= 7 during 60 min of reaction followed up by Uv-Vis spectroscopy.Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic organic contaminants. Owing to the persistence of PAHs in soil and sediments and their toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects, the remediation of PAH-contaminated sites is an important environmental issue. Various remediation techniques have been explored for the removal of persistent PAHs from complex matrices like soils or sediments. The degradation of PAHs has been reported by Fenton-like reaction catalyzed by various Fe oxides (1-3). Herein, we used magnetite (Fe3O4) as efficient catalyst in modified Fenton process to removal of PAHs from contaminated soils.