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U.S. Department of Energy
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Supercritical carbon dioxide decontamination of PAH contaminants

Conference ·
OSTI ID:257135
;  [1]
  1. Univ. of Akron, OH (United States)
Before the 1940`s, more than 2,000 manufactured gas plant sites existed across North America for the production of a low Btu gas for heating and lighting. These sites, now abandoned, are contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a coal gasification byproduct that was dumped on-site into unlined pits. The potential for ground water contamination of PAHs has made these sites an environmental concern. The remediation of PAH contaminated sites is difficult to achieve by conventional cleaning methods. In this work, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction has been investigated on a town gas soil containing 3.37 wt% contamination. The soil has been remediated in a 300 cm{sup 3} semi-continuous extraction vessel and the effects of solvent temperature, pressure, and density will be discussed. Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction is an emerging technology that can extract compounds that are difficult or impossible by conventional processes.
OSTI ID:
257135
Report Number(s):
CONF-950952--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English