12 May 2020

PUBLICATION NOTICE: Fenton’s Reagent Treatability Study for Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils, McMurdo Station, Antarctica

ABSTRACT:  Hydrocarbon-contaminated soil is distributed heterogeneously at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, which has served for over 60 years as the logistics hub for the U.S. Antarctic Program. Here we investigated the treatability of McMurdo Station’s contaminated soil with chemical oxidation. Our study collected five soil samples in 2018 and 2019, of which two contained high levels (>100 mg/kg) of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) suitable for the treatability study. One soil (ITC) was characterized by 1250 mg/kg of predominantly midrange (n-C8 to n-C16) hydrocarbons, and the other (Soil Pile) was characterized by 3500 mg/kg of predominantly heavy molecular weight (>n-C21) hydrocarbons. We investigated the treatability of these soils with both Fenton’s Reagent (pH < 3 with Fe2+) and modified Fenton’s Reagent (chelated Fe2+), each with hydrogen peroxide concentrations of 3% and 10%. Soil slurries were placed on a shaker table at 100 rpm and 4°C for up to 21 days. TPH concentrations were reduced by approximately 50% for ITC; however, the oxidative treatments did not out-perform controls. All treatments and controls yielded no significant reduction in Soil Pile TPH. Poor performance by these chemical oxidation treatments indicates that remediation of hydrocarbons at these sites may require further soil processing in combination with chemical oxidation or alternative treatment technologies.