Use of Biodegradable Sorbents to the Decontamination of Polluted Soils

Abstract

The paper presents the decontamination of soils polluted with diesel, oils and other petroleum products. Soil decontamination is applied in-situ and ex-situ, depending on the surface and depth of the polluted area. The treatment time was 152 days, after which total hydrocarbon oil concentrations decreased for all experimental samples. The highest efficiency in reducing the concentration of petroleum products was in the case of samples treated with biodegradable sorbent and in the case of those treated with biodegradable sorbent mixture and biological sludge. Biodegradable non-waste materials have been used. The risk of migration of deep pollutants is low in the ex-situ version. Decontamination time is longer for high yields. In the case of older pollution, decontamination yields are low due to the presence of some 35% compounds, which do not migrate and are difficult to biodegrade under normal conditions.