Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a major concern because of their potential mutagenic and carcinogenic risks to human beings. One of these harmful, yet commonly observed PAHs is pyrene. Pyrene is one of the 16 PAHs listed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as priority pollutants. The purposes of this research are to develop a method of pretreatment for PAH contaminants prior to a typical biological treatment and to demonstrate the biodegradablity of these compounds. Since pyrene is non-polar, hexane was chosen as a solvent to effectively dissolve pyrene. Pyrene solutions were treated with ozone, as it has high oxidation capacity and electrophilic character. The intermediates and byproducts of pyrene were dissolved in alkaline water at pH 11.4 and neutralized to test for BOD5, COD, and toxicity. These solutions were further ozonated and assessed of biodegradability. The first-order rate constant ko was found to be between 0.121day-1 and 0.081 day-1, depending on the duration of reozonation. The BOD5/COD ratio was found to 0.66. The toxicity test showed that after 10 min of reozonation time, the byproducts and intermediates of pyrene were within the non-toxic range of ± 10% inhibition for E-Coli bacteria.

• Young Ik Choi(Department of Environmental Engineering, Silla University) Corresponding Author