Thermal Treatment of Fuel Oil-Contaminated Soils under Rapid Heating Conditions

BUCALA, VERONICA; SAITO, HIROSHI; HOWARD, J.B.; PETERS, W.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 1994 vol. 28 p. 1801 - 1807

0013-936X

Batch samples (-50 mg) of 63-125-w.m particles of a U.S. EPA synthetic soil matrix, neat or contaminated with 4 or 7 wt % of no. 2 fuel oil, were subjected to preselected temperature-time histories. Effects of heating rate, final temperature, heating time, and contamination level on extents and apparent global rates of contaminant removal were studied. At 1000 "C/s, the percent fuel oil removal approached 100% in about 0.7 s (final temperature = 700 "C). Most of the oil can also be eliminated by heating the sample to final temperatures of 300 and 500 "C at 1000 "C/S and then continuing heating for about 25 s. Heating rate affects the details of oil release but heating to 300 "C at 200 or 1000 "C/s each gave oil decontamination efficiencies that approached 100% in about 25 s. For the same peak temperature and heating rate, soils with initial contaminant levels of 4 or 7 wt % required about the same total heating time for essentially complete removal of the oil. Products generated during the heating of selected soil samples were collected and analyzed. The results imply that significant chemical transformations of the fuel oil probably occur during higher temperature, e.g., 500 "C, thermal treatment.