Remediation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil Using Cosolvent Flushing

The ability of cosolvents to increase the solubility of hydrophobic organic contaminants has been well documented in the literature; however, few studies have examined its effectiveness with respect to field contaminated media. In this work, we examine the use of methanol flushing as a possible in-situ remediation technology using an aged, tar-contaminated field soil from a former manufactured gas plant containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). For 15 PAHs, batch experiments were used to determine the change in the equilibrium partitioning coefficient with cosolvent fraction based on a log-linear cosolvency model. Column experiments were conducted to examine the removal of PAHs using methanol solutions as a function of pore volumes flushed. Experiments were conducted in a 25-cm long glass column. Effluent concentrations were determined for PAHs. Methanol concentrations in effluent samples were also determined. A numerical model with coupled flow and transport equations was used to predict effluent concentrations of methanol and PAHs. During cosolvent flushing with 95% methanol solutions, approximately 80% of the total PAH mass was removed in the first four pore volumes. The remaining mass in the column appeared to be mass transfer limited, particularly for the low molecular weight PAHs.