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IJESD 2019 Vol.10(10): 301-309 ISSN: 2010-0264
doi: 10.18178/ijesd.2019.10.10.1191
doi: 10.18178/ijesd.2019.10.10.1191
Optimization of Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Hydrocarbons from a Contaminated Soil: An Experimental Approach
Ali H. Al-Marzouqi, Abdulrazag Y. Zekri, Adel A. Azzam, and Abdulrahman Y. Alraeesi
Abstract—Soil and sediment contamination with hydrocarbons is an environmental concern, which demands for more efficient remediation techniques. Pure and modified supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO2) was used for the extraction of petroleum hydrocarbons from soil contaminated with crude oil. Effect of CO2 flow rate (1 and 4 ml/min), temperature (80 and 160 oC), pressure (250 and 350 bar), and addition of 5% (v/v) organic solvent (heptane or toluene) on the extraction efficiency and on the composition of extracted hydrocarbons were investigated. The maximum extraction efficiency (92.26%) was obtained at 80 oC and 350 bar corresponding to a modified CO2 with 5% (v/v) heptane’s and CO2 flow rate of 1 ml/min. Extraction efficiency of CO2 increased with pressure and decreased with temperature. Chemical modification of CO2 by adding heptane increased the extraction efficiency. Analysis of the soil after the extraction process shows that pure SC CO2 was able to remove up to 92.86% of TPH in the contaminated soil. In addition, a significant reduction in PAH level was observed. Supercritical fluid extraction proved to be an efficient method for the remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soil.
Index Terms—Carbon dioxide, extraction, heptane, soil, toluene, supercritical (SC).
The authors are with United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, P.O. Box: 15551, U.A.E. (corresponding author: Abdulrazag Y. Zekri; e-mail: a.zekri@uaeu.ac.ae).
Index Terms—Carbon dioxide, extraction, heptane, soil, toluene, supercritical (SC).
The authors are with United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, P.O. Box: 15551, U.A.E. (corresponding author: Abdulrazag Y. Zekri; e-mail: a.zekri@uaeu.ac.ae).
Cite: Ali H. Al-Marzouqi, Abdulrazag Y. Zekri, Adel A. Azzam, and Abdulrahman Y. Alraeesi, "Optimization of Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Hydrocarbons from a Contaminated Soil: An Experimental Approach," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 10, no. 10, pp. 301-309, 2019.
Copyright © 2019 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).