Low temperature thermal degradation of PCDD/Fs in soil using nanosized particles of zerovalent iron and CaO

Abstract

This study investigated the degradation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in contaminated soil using low temperature treatment (200–280 °C) both alone and in combination with nanosized zerovalent iron (nZVI) particles or CaO. Control soil samples and soil fortified with nZVI particles or CaO were treated at 200 and 250 °C in sealed glass ampoules. Treatment of the ampouled samples at 250 °C was more effective than treatment at 200 °C and the reduction in PCDD/F concentration was greatest when soil was treated at 250 °C with nZVI addition (indeed, treatment at 200 °C in the absence of nZVI resulted in increases in total PCDD and PCDD/F concentrations). In larger-scale experiments based on the obtained results, using a rotary furnace, the greatest reduction in total PCDD/F concentration was achieved by treating soil at 280 °C, and adding nZVI to the soil resulted in almost no detectable PCDD/F in the gas phase.