Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of recalcitrant halogenated compounds once employed in coatings and oils until they were banned in 1979 by the US Environmental Protection Agency as cancer-suspect agents. Materials exceeding 50 mg/kg PCBs must be appropriately landfilled or remediated, posing cost issues at sites where large volumes of soil are affected. Soil washing has been shown to be effective for PCB removal but creates a solvent waste stream. Use of biodegradable, �green� solvents such as ethanol and ethyl lactate minimizes the effect of residual solvent left in the soil. Previous research has also shown that PCBs can be reductively dechlorinated using zero-valent magnesium, acetic acid, and ethanol. This work focuses on the optimization of an ethanol/ethyl lactate cosolvent system for washing of PCB-contaminated soil, allowing remediation of the resultant waste stream. Ongoing studies focus on the potential for re-use of solvent and/or magnesium metal, improving process sustainability.

Towards greener soil washing: A two-step process for extraction and dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls

245th National Meeting (2013)

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