A comparative study of methods for remediation of diesel-contaminated soil

Soil pollution by diesel fuels is a worldwide environmental problem, but little research has been carried out into on-site techniques for remediation of soil polluted by waste solvents. This study compared chemical oxidation and soil washing methods for their efficiency and environmental and economic impacts. Soil was spiked with 0 # diesel to simulate an actual pollution level of about 1260 mg/kg total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH). Fenton-like oxidation eliminated 90.4% of the TPH with a Fe 2+ :H 2 O 2 ratio of 1:10 in 5 d compared with 25.8% removal by the activated persulfate method under the same conditions. In washing tests, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate and Tween 80 were both unsuitable for TPH washing, while ultrapure water removed 36.1% of TPH in 75 min. Only the Fenton-like oxidation technique met remediation goals based on the screening values of the Guideline for Risk Assessment of Contaminated Sites. The environmental impact and economic assessment of techniques demonstrated the superiority of water washing for dealing with low-degree TPH contamination.