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Evidence of colloidal transport of PAHs during column experiments run with contaminated soil samples

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Abstract

Brownfield soils may contain high levels of organic pollutants particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It is essential to predict their migration and fate and to evaluate the risk of transfer to sensitive targets, such as water resources, ecosystems and human health. In this study, soil samples have been taken from an experimental contaminated site of former steel activities located at Homecourt (Lorraine, France). These samples have been lixiviated in laboratory column in water-saturated condition at room temperature. The effluent has been collected by fraction and analysed by a standard method giving total concentration of each of 16 PAHs. The breakthrough curves of 16 PAHs significantly evolve in the same way according to the volume of effluent and tend to vanish to 12–15 pore volumes. If several PAHs remain at a concentration below the solubility, others clearly exceed this threshold. Material balance sheets show that only a very small fraction of PAHs is mobilised. These results are interpreted by postulating that PAHs are transported by the solution not only in the dissolved state but also by associations with particulate or dissolved organic matter.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the French Government and the Région Lorraine for their financial support of GISFI (http://www.gisfi.fr).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Eco-Procédés, Optimisation et Aide à la Décision (EPROAD, EA), Université de Picardie Jules Verne - IUT de l’Aisne, 48 rue d’Ostende, 02100, Saint-Quentin, France

    Karim Benhabib & Michel Sardin

  2. Laboratoire Réaction et Génie des Procédés, Nancy Université INPL - CNRS, 1 rue Grandville, BP 20451, 54001, Nancy cedex, France

    Marie-Odile Simonnot

  3. G2R, Nancy Université UHP, BP239, 54601, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy Cedex, France

    Pierre Faure

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  1. Karim Benhabib
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  2. Marie-Odile Simonnot
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Correspondence to Karim Benhabib.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Benhabib, K., Simonnot, MO., Faure, P. et al. Evidence of colloidal transport of PAHs during column experiments run with contaminated soil samples. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 9220–9228 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8586-4

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