The objectives of this study are to examine the processing of oils contamination soil by means of using a micronano-bubble soil washing system, to investigate the various factors such as washing periods, the amount of micro-nano bubbles generated depending on the quantity of acid injection and quantity of air injection, to examine the features involved in the elimination of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) contained in the soil, and thus to evaluate the possibility of practical application on the field for the economic feasibility.
The oils contaminated soil used in this study was collected from the 0~15 cm surface layer of an automobile junkyard located in U City.
The collected soil was air-dried for 24 hours, and then the large particles and other substances contained in the soil were eliminated and filtered through sieve No.10 (2 mm) to secure consistency in the samples. The TPH concentration of the contaminated soil was found to be 4,914~5,998 mg/kg.
The micronano-bubble soil washing system consists of the reactor, the flow equalization tank, the micronano- bubble generator, the pump and the strainer, and was manufactured with stainless material for withstanding acidic phase.
When the injected air flow rate was fixed at 2 L/min, for each hydrogen peroxide concentrations (5, 10, 15%) the removal percents for TPH within the contaminated soil with retention times of 30 minutes were respectively identified as 4,931 mg/kg (18.9%), 4,678 mg/kg (18.9%) and, 4,513 mg/kg (17.7%). And when the injected air flow rate was fixed at 2 L/min, for each hydrogen peroxide concentrations (5, 10, 15%) the removal percents for TPH within the contaminated soil with retention times of 120 minutes were respectively identified as4,256 mg/kg (22.3%), 4,621 mg/kg (19.7%) and 4,268 mg/kg (25.9%).