Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are congeners of a synthetic organic chemical that have been used as additives in paint. Many structures are still coated with PCB-laden paints despite the fact that production of PCBs in the USA has been banned since the late 1970s. This leads to an urgent need for a cost effective approach to extract and degrade PCBs from contaminated surfaces. Previous studies from our research laboratory developed novel methods of <i>in situ</i> remediation of PCBs via Non-Metal Treatment System (NMTS) to extract and Activated Metal Treatment System (AMTS) with zero-valent magnesium (ZVMg) to both extract and dechlorinate. These technologies require acidified ethanol and d-limonene as solvents, with ZVMg in the AMTS. However, while NMTS and AMTS offer certain advantages in the treatment of PCBs, they are limited by the fact that these technologies rapidly lose their activity in less than one week and are unable to extract and dehalogenate all the PCBs present in field samples. To address this limitation, new formulations of NMTS and AMTS are proposed in the present work. These formulations utilize a co-solvent system of acidified ethanol/ethyl lactate; while ZVMg over activated carbon is used in the AMTS. By substituting ethyl lactate for d-limonene, the cost of treatment is significantly reduced while still serving to soften the paint structure. These modifications extended the activity of both systems when applied to laboratory-prepared paint as well as field samples, with the AMTS achieving continued dechlorination of PCBs up to complete remediation after one month.

Reformulation of treatment system for remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls in paint

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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