title: Electrochemical oxidation of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in polluted concrete of the residential buildings.
abstract: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) have been listed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and by the European Community as priority environmental pollutants. The removal of PAHs from soils, sediments and waste water has attracted attention of scientists and engineers for several decades. Electrochemical oxidation of PAH compounds in water, is receiving increasing attention, due to its convenience and simplicity. In this study we performed electrochemical oxidation of 16 EPA PAHs mixture in 10% NaCl aqueous solution in potentiostatic conditions, at voltage 1 V. Decrease of concentration of some individual PAHs, up to 70% referred to their starting concentration, after 60 min of electrolysis, was confirmed by UPLC/PDA analysis. In further work investigation was extrapolated to in situ removal of PAHs from concrete, as the medium where, to our knowledge, such way of PAH removal has not been investigated before. High concentrations of PAH contamination occurred in the concrete structure of the residential buildings in Belgrade in 2014. Application of DC voltage of 50 V between nickel and stainless steel electrodes packed in the concrete wall, moisturized with the 10% NaCl solution, led to considerable removal of the pollutants by oxidation process throughout the concrete.
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Danka D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Aćimović
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Slavko D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Karić
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Željka M
authors.initials: ŽM
authors.lastname: Nikolić
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Tanja P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Brdarić
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Gvozden S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Tasić
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: milica@vinca.rs.
authors.forename: Milica P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Marčeta Kaninski
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Mike Petrovića Alasa 12-14, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Vladimir M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Nikolić
mesh_terms: D060389:Construction Industry; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012987:Soil
keywords: Concrete pollution; Electrochemical oxidation; PAH oxidation; PAH removal