The existence of contaminated soils is an undeniable and environmentally distrustful fact which has moved the efforts of the scientific and technical communities searching solutions for their remediation.
The main objective of this research work is to exploit the possibility of using the solvent in-pulp extraction technique for the remediation of soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons.
As first, it was studied the miscibility of ternary systems constituted by ethyl acetate – ketone – water. These mixtures are interesting because they are constituted by solvents with low environmental aggressively, and especially because for a range of compositions they form a single phase mixture, which allows a more efficient contact with the soil.
The following contaminants were selected: 2,2,4-trimethylpenthene, xylene, naphthalene and hexadecane. The analytical control was done by gas phase chromatography.
The research focus on the kinetics of the extraction, on the effect of the extractant/soil phase ratio and on the efficiency of using a single or multiple contact on the extraction yield. The effect of some soil parameters such as the organic matter content and the grain size distribution were also assessed.
The solvent regeneration by distillation was also appraised.
The global results are promising and they show that the solvent in-pulp extraction process is a feasible technical option for the remediation of aromatic, polyaromatic and linear hydrocarbons.