Testes de tratabalidade de áreas contaminadas por hidrocarbonetos derivados de petróleo empregando remediação por oxidação química

Abstract

Humanity continually seeks to evolve to meet its needs or increase its comfort. With the development of production processes and the growth of commerce, industry, and services, especially after the industrial revolution, the demand for raw materials, fuels, solvents, and energy sources has increased exponentially. Most of these liquid substances are based on petroleum-derived hydrocarbons and organochlorine compounds. In commercial or industrial plants, they are generally stored in underground or above-ground tanks and transported by pumps and pipes. This equipment is subject to failures or accidents; their leaks can contaminate the soil, aquifers, water tables, surface water, and the air, and the site is then called a contaminated area. In order to ensure continued use, change of use or occupation, and protect assets, human health, and the environment, these areas must be remediated to eliminate or minimize contamination to levels that do not pose risks. These areas undergo sequential assessments and actions, which are preliminary, confirmatory, and detailed environmental liability investigations, risk analysis, and available and applicable remediation processes. Many environmental agencies adopt the prior execution of a small-scale test to implement a remediation process. This work aims to analyze the results of bench-top treatability studies of areas contaminated by petroleum-derived hydrocarbons and chlorinated organic compounds using in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) and surfactant-assisted in situ chemical oxidation (S-ISCO) remediation. The assessment was carried out concerning the amount of oxidant consumed by the soil, the total amount of oxidant consumed for the mineralization of contaminants, and the correlation of this consumption with the physicochemical properties of the soils were evaluated. The results confirmed the desorption of contaminants in the surfactant process with their solubilization, availability, and increased mobility, and the mineralization or transformation of contaminants in the oxidation process with a reduction in their concentration. Inference was made through calculations and mathematical correlations of the missing data in the materials used as a reference for the physical and chemical properties of contaminated soils and oxidant consumption, and exploratory chemometrics confirmed that greater amounts of organic matter, greater micro, macro, and total soil porosity lead to greater oxidant consumption.