The Treatment of PCB Polluted Soil—The Approach Based on the Application of Electrochemical Treatment

Abstract

This paper investigates the electrochemical treatment of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated soils. The research was performed within a project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and for the experimental part; artificially contaminated soil with PCB was used. Two reactors of different sizes were used; the smaller designed in a Ph.D. research and the larger in a research project co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Specific voltage, current density, redox potential, time and pH values were considered throughout the tests. The initial PCB concentration in the test soil (3.571 mg/kgdw) exceeds the intervention threshold for sensitive use according to Romanian regulations (1 mg/kgdw). Three different tests were performed: within the first one (T1) the soil was polluted with insulating oil; within the other two tests (T2 and T3) the soil was contaminated with capacitor oil. The initial PCB concentrations within the three tests (as a sum of all PCB concentrations) were: 4.4461 mg/kgdw within T1, and 3.5710 mg/kgdw within both T2 and T3. The study showed that the electrochemical treatment could achieve up to 87 % remediation efficiency for PCB polluted soils. Therefore, this treatment is relevant and a potential solution for the remediation of PCB polluted soils.