SOIL DECONTAMINATION USING ELECTROCHEMISTRY

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS TO INVESTIGATE THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING AN ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESS TO THE IN SITU DEHALOGENATION OF HAZARDOUS WASTES FOUND IN LANDFILLS AND IN SOILS CONTAMINATED BY LEAKS OR SPILLS. PRELIMINARY WORK BY TRACER HAS SHOWN THAT AN ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESS CAN BE USED EFFECTIVELY IN DEHALOGENATING HAZARDOUS WASTES SUCH AS PCBS. IN THE PROPOSED PHASE I PROGRAM SUCH DEHALOGENATION WILL BE CARRIED OUT IN THE PRESENCE OF EXTRACTS OBTAINED WITH SOLVENTS EFFECTIVE IN LEACHING HAZARDOUS WASTES FROM SOILS. OF CONCERN IS WHETHER THE ORGANIC MATERIALS IN SUCH SOIL EXTRACTS WILL REDUCE THE RATE OF HAZARDOUS MATERIAL DEHALOGENATION OR WILL BE CHLORINATED UNDER THE CONDITIONS USED TO DEHALOGENATE THE HAZARDOUS MATERIAL. THEPROGRAM APPROACH IS TO OBTAIN SOIL EXTRACTS USING FOUR SOLVENT SYSTEMS, CHARACTERIZE THE EXTRACTS OBTAINED ELECTROCHEMICALLY, AND THEN TO ADD THE EXTRACTS TO THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEM IN WHICH PCB DEHALOGENATION IS ONGOING. THE CHANGE IN RATE OF DEHALOGENATION ON EXTRACT ADDITION WILL BE DETERMINED; THE ELECTROLYTE OBTAINED AFTER DEHALOGENATION WILL BE EXAMINED BY GC AND GC/MS TO DETERMINETHE EXTENT OF CHLORINATION OF THE SOIL EXTRACTS. RESULTS OBTAINED WILL BE USED TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESS TO IN SITU CONTINUOUSLY EXTRACT AND DEHALOGENATE HAZARDOUS WASTES IN LANDFILLS AND IN SOILS CONTAMINATED BY LEAKS OR SPILLS.