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Enhanced degradation of HCH in soil by synergetic alkaline hydrolysis and thermal activation of persulfate

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Alkaline-thermal coupling activation of persulfate (PS) is an effective method for hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) degradation. However, the process of this method requires high concentrations of NaOH and PS. Since HCH can be easily hydrolyzed into trichlorobenzene (TCB), in this study, we adopted the strategy of sequential addition of reagents (adding NaOH first and maintaining for 4 h before adding PS) and explored the effect of temperature and alkalinity on HCH hydrolysis and TCB oxidation, in order to develop a better degradation method for HCH which persists in the environment.

Methods

Shake flask experiments were performed, which allowed for the examination of specific factors. The degradation of HCH was evaluated by measuring the concentrations of HCH and TCB during the reaction by gas chromatography.

Results and discussion

It was found that high pH favored HCH hydrolysis but inhibited TCB oxidation. Almost no HCH degradation occurred under simultaneous addition (20 mM NaOH and 50 mM PS), while 80% of HCH was hydrolyzed within 4 h under sequential addition in soil. The results demonstrated that the concentration of alkali should be controlled and that sequential addition was more beneficial for the degradation of HCH, especially in the case of low alkali concentration. Moreover, the degradation efficiency was higher in soils with low soil organic matter (SOM) content, as SOM would affect PS and NaOH consumption and compete for radicals.

Conclusion

This study provides practical information for future design of activated PS treatment for in situ remediation of HCH-contaminated environments.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 42007106 and 22176091).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China

    Xunru Yu, Xiaolei Wang, Changyin Zhu & Dongmei Zhou

  2. School of Environment, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, People’s Republic of China

    Fengxiao Zhu

Authors
  1. Xunru Yu
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  2. Xiaolei Wang
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  3. Changyin Zhu
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  4. Fengxiao Zhu
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  5. Dongmei Zhou
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. X. Y.: conceptualization, methodology, and writing—original draft. X. W.: investigation and writing—review and editing. C. Z.: investigation, methodology, review and editing, and funding acquisition. Fengxiao Zhu: writing—review and editing. D. Z.: methodology, resources, and funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Changyin Zhu or Dongmei Zhou.

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Yu, X., Wang, X., Zhu, C. et al. Enhanced degradation of HCH in soil by synergetic alkaline hydrolysis and thermal activation of persulfate. J Soils Sediments 24, 670–680 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03660-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03660-2

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