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Persulfate persistence under thermal activation conditions.
Richard L Johnson1, Paul G Tratnyek, Reid O'Brien Johnson
1Department of Environmental and Biomolecular Systems, Oregon Health & Science University, 20000 NW Walker Road, Portland, Oregon 97006, USA. rjohnson@ebs.ogi.edu
Environmental Science & Technology
|January 30, 2009
Summary
Thermal activation enhances in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) by increasing persulfate decomposition rates. However, high temperatures limit persulfate
Area of Science:
- Environmental Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) is a remediation technology.
- Persulfate activation enhances contaminant destruction.
- Thermal activation of persulfate is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate thermal activation kinetics of persulfate.
- Determine Arrhenius parameters for persulfate decomposition.
- Evaluate persulfate performance in soil environments.
Main Methods:
- Collected new data under environmentally relevant conditions.
- Combined new and existing data.
- Computed Arrhenius parameters (In A and Eact).
- Conducted experiments with soil at elevated temperatures.
Main Results:
- Developed three sets of Arrhenius parameters for persulfate decomposition in homogeneous solutions.
- Observed increased persulfate decomposition rates in soil due to organic matter and mineral surfaces.
- Confirmed pseudo-first-order kinetics conforming to the Arrhenius model in soil.
- Demonstrated that reaction rates return to homogeneous solution values after oxidant demand is met.
Conclusions:
- Thermal activation kinetics of persulfate are described by Arrhenius parameters.
- Soil components influence persulfate decomposition rates.
- Elevated temperatures accelerate persulfate decomposition but shorten its effective delivery time, limiting ISCO efficiency.
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