Clay-based catalyst synthesized for chemical oxidation of phenanthrene contaminated soil using hydrogen peroxide and persulfate

Hydrocarbon contaminated sites are a critical issue. Soil is a complex substrate and its heterogeneity makes soil remediation a difficult task. Studies involving in situ chemical oxidation focusing on soil remediation are scarce in literature. Heterogeneous catalysts for oxidation process can be supported in clays. In this work, different clay-based catalysts were synthesized. Concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), ferrous sulfate (FeSO4), and ferric sulfate (Fe3(SO4)2) were varied in accordance with a 23 experimental design. Modified clay catalysts (MCC) were applied in oxidation assays of phenanthrene (PHE) contaminated soil to evaluate the activation of two oxidants: sodium persulfate (SP) and hydrogen peroxide (HP). The experimental design response was the PHE removal. Most of the catalysts proved to be efficient in activating both oxidants and achieved around 80 % of PHE removal. Control assays showed that around 20 % of PHE can be naturally transferred from soil to the liquid phase. PHE removal did not occur during oxidation with raw clay (RC). The highest PHE removal was obtained using MCC 16 with HP, reaching 83 %. XRF analysis of MCC 16 indicated an increase of 160 % in iron content and the Mossbauer spectroscopy showed higher values of relative Fe3+ doublet area for MCC 16 than for RC. BET surface area measurements and scanning electron microscopy analysis suggested the impregnation of iron minerals on the MCC 16 surface. The catalyst proposed in this study can be applied in both in situ or ex situ remediation circumstances, reducing the environmental effects of organic contaminants.