title: Influence of in situ steam formation by radio frequency heating on thermodesorption of hydrocarbons from contaminated soil.
abstract: Thermal desorption of a wide spectrum of organic contaminants, initiated by radio frequency (RF) heating, was studied at laboratory and pilot-plant scales for an artificially contaminated soil and for an originally contaminated soil from an industrial site. Up to 100 °C, moderate desorption rates were observed for light aromatics such as toluene, chlorobenzene, and ethylbenzene. Desorption of the less volatile contaminants was greatly enhanced above 100 °C, when fast evaporation of soil-water produced steam for hydrocarbon stripping (steam-distillation, desorption rates increased by more than 1 order of magnitude). For hydrocarbons with low water solubility (e.g., aliphatic hydrocarbons), the temperature increase above 100 °C after desiccation of soil again led to a significant increase of the removal rates, thus showing the impact of hydrocarbon partial pressure. RF heating was shown to be an appropriate option for thermally enhanced soil vapor extraction, leading to efficient cleaning of contaminated soils.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany. ulf.roland@ufz.de
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Roland
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bergmann
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Holzer
authors.forename: Frank-Dieter
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Kopinke
mesh_terms: D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D006361:Heating; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007753:Laboratories; D011846:Radio Waves; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013227:Steam; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D007220:Industrial Waste; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D013227:Steam