Magnesium and Acetic Acid/Ethanol Solution for Degradation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls: From Laboratory Kinetics to Application

摘要

Research conducted at the University of Central Florida (UCF) has demonstrated that zero-valent magnesium in an acetic acid/ethanol solution is capable of rapid dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In neat vial studies, this activated metal treatment system (AMTS) has been shown to degrade concentrations up to 50 ng/μL of single congener PCB-151, with total degradation achieved within one hour. When used in conjunction with a paste formulated to draw PCBs from surfaces in the field, the AMTS was shown to be capable of reducing PCB levels in paint samples from 2797 mg/kg to 29 mg/kg over the course of seven days. This matrix also forms the basis for a technique for treating PCB-contaminated machine oils via sorption onto activated alumina and subsequent degradation. Oil samples from a shipbuilding facility in Yokosuka, Japan, were reduced from 0.85 ng/μL Aroclor 1260 to 0.004 ng/μL, and it was shown that the PCBs could be removed and degraded from the resulting contaminated alumina.