Promising approaches to the purification of soils and groundwater from hydrocarbons (A Review)

Abstract

Soils and waters are affected by oil spills in the course of oil production and hydrocarbon leakages because of the corrosion of underground reservoirs, as well as the filtration of hydrocarbons from the tailing ponds formed during the extraction of oil from oil sands. The conventional technology for the withdrawal of contaminated water and its purification on the surface is low-efficient and expensive. New approaches are proposed for the in situ purification of soils and groundwater. To accelerate the oxidation, active substances atypical for the supergenesis zone are used: peroxides of metals and hydrogen. The efficiency of hydrogen peroxide significantly increases when the oxidation is catalyzed by Fe²⁺ or Fe³⁺ (Fenton reaction). The effects of Fe(III), sulfates, and carbon dioxide as electron acceptors are studied under anaerobic conditions (with oxygen deficit).