Remediation of phenanthrene contaminated soils by nonionic surfactants enhanced soil washing coupled with ozone oxidation

In the present work, soil washing followed by ozone oxidation for remediation of phenanthrene (PHE) contaminated soils was investigated. The PHE removal efficiencies of TX-100 and Brij-35 at 3000 mg/L were 80.2% and 73.8%, respectively. In the ozone oxidation process, the oxygen supply rate was more rapid and the ozone concentration in the water rose quickly after 2 h. The degradation efficiencies for PHE, Brij-35, and TX-100 at 20 mg/L ozone concentration were 99%, 99%, and 45%, respectively. Our investigation suggests that coupling ozone oxidation with surfactant-enhanced soil washing is an effective method for removing hydrophobic compounds from soils.