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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Supercritical water decontamination of town gas soil

Book ·
OSTI ID:51942
; ;  [1]
  1. Univ. of Akron, OH (United States)
Town gas sites represent a large environmental problem that exists in more than 2,000 sites across North America alone. The major contaminants in town gas sods are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These are stable compounds that migrate deep into the soil and are traditionally very difficult to remove by conventional remediation processes. Supercritical fluids offer enhanced solvating properties along with reduced mass transfer resistances that make them ideal for removing compounds that are difficult or impossible to remove by conventional processes. Supercritical water is ideal for removing PAHs and other hydrocarbons from soil due to its high solvating power towards most hydrocarbon species. Supercritical water was investigated for its ability to remediate two different town gas sods containing from 3--20 wt% contamination. The sod was remediated in a 300-cc semi-continuous system to a more environmentally acceptable level.
OSTI ID:
51942
Report Number(s):
CONF-940930--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English