Modification of coal tar pitch by chemical method to reduce benzo(a)pyrene

Coal tar pitch (CTP) comprises mainly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, some of which are carcinogenic in nature. Among these, benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) is one of the most prominently reported carcinogens and its presence in CTP is a cause of concern for environmentaiists. B(a)P gets released into the atmosphere during processing of CTP for various applications and is the cause of adverse effects on human health and the environment. In the present study, CTP has been modified using different modifiers to reduce the content of B(a)P. This involves not only the analysis for content of B(a)P in CTP by HPLC, but also deals with the several physicochemical properties before and after modification of CTP. It has been observed that the B(a)P content can be reduced almost to the extent of 80% by chemical modification. On comparing the physico-chemical properties of CTP before and after modification, it has been observed that there is no noticeable change. Thus, modified CTP can be effectively used for various applications, without the potential hazards of B(a)P.