Evaluation of Surfactant-Enhanced In Situ Chemical Oxidation (S-ISCO) in Contaminated Soil

This work evaluated surfactant-enhanced in situ chemical oxidation (S-ISCO) in a hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. Surfactants and efficacy of oxidant activation as well as the treatability of contaminated soil were assessed. The surfactant VeruSOL-3 with a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 5.5 g/L was selected. Based on the results, activated oxidations by sodium persulphate and hydrogen peroxide were able to effectively destroy target organic compounds in emulsion and soil. The destruction of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in emulsion was completed in 14 days and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in excess of 96 %. Green nanoiron was much more active than other activators in emulsion. The data also indicates that oxidation using activators was much less pronounced in soil matrices. However, it is expected that given sufficient dose and treatment time, a higher destruction rate in the contaminated soil can be achieved. The study showed that the remediation of target organic contaminants (TPH, PAH) in soil by S-ISCO using activated sodium persulphate is feasible.