Effect of pre-heating on the chemical oxidation efficiency: implications for the PAH availability measurement in contaminated soils.

Three chemical oxidation treatments (KMnO4, H2O2 and Fenton-like) were applied on three PAH-contaminated soils presenting different properties to determine the potential use of these treatments to evaluate the available PAH fraction. In order to increase the available fraction, a pre-heating (100 °C under N2 for one week) was also applied on the samples prior oxidant addition. PAH and extractable organic matter contents were determined before and after treatment applications. KMnO4 was efficient to degrade PAHs in all the soil samples and the pre-heating slightly improved its efficiency. H2O2 and Fenton-like treatments presented low efficiency to degrade PAH in the soil presenting poor PAH availability, however, the PAH degradation rates were improved with the pre-heating. Consequently H2O2-based treatments (including Fenton-like) are highly sensitive to contaminant availability and seem to be valid methods to estimate the available PAH fraction in contaminated soils.