title: Application of microwave irradiation in the removal of polychlorinated biphenyls from soil contaminated by capacitor oil.
abstract: The applicability of microwave irradiation in the removal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the soil heavily contaminated by capacitor oil was studied. Granular activated carbon (GAC) was added into the soil as a microwave-absorbing material to rapidly increase the temperature of the reaction system. Effects of sodium hypophosphite (SHP) and iron powder (IP) as reductants on PCB removal, as well as the effects of water content in soil, microwave power and the amount of GAC added were investigated. The results indicated that in the presence of SHP and GAC, about 80% of PCBs in soil were effectively removed by 10 min microwave irradiation, and the further addition of IP could raise the average removal efficiency to a higher level, more than 95%. In the removal of PCBs with the microwave/GAC/IP/SHP system, an appropriate amount of water proved to be helpful in promoting the removal of PCBs from soil by steam distillation and in acting as a co-solvent of SHP and H-donor of IP.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. liuxt@bnu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Xitao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guixiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control; D008872:Microwaves; D009821:Oils / Q000737:chemistry*; D010782:Photolysis / Q000528:radiation effects; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D009821:Oils; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls