Promoted wet air oxidation of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons

The treatment of an aqueous solution of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, namely acenaphthene, phenanthrene, anthracene and fluoranthene, under moderate conditions of temperature and pressure has been conducted in the presence and absence of free radical promoters (hydrogen peroxide or potassium monopersulfate). With no addition of promoters, the process achieves PAH conversion values in the range 80-100% at 190 °C and 50 bars of air pressure (80 min of reaction). Similar results are obtained in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, however, in this case, the time required is just 60 min with a sharp decrease in PAH concentration in the first 10-20 min. Additionally, temperature can be lowered to values in the range 100-150 °C. If potassium monopersulfate is used instead of hydrogen peroxide, an analogous behaviour is experienced, in the latter case, temperatures above 120 °C lead to an inhibition of anthracene oxidation, likely due to ineffective decomposition of the monopersulfate molecule.