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STUDIES ON ADSORPTION OF 2-CHLORO BIPHENYL ON SEDIMENTS AND SEDIMENT COMPONENTS
Citation:
AGARWAL, S., S. R. AL-ABED, AND D. D. DIONYSIOU. STUDIES ON ADSORPTION OF 2-CHLORO BIPHENYL ON SEDIMENTS AND SEDIMENT COMPONENTS. In Proceedings, 229th American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 13 - 17, 2005. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 532-534, (2005).
Description:
Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are a family of 209 structurally related chemical compounds (congeners), consisting of two benzene rings and 1 to 10 chlorine atoms. They range from light, oily fluids to heavier, greasy or waxy substances. PCBs were discovered more than 100 years ago and their production and commercial use began in 1929. Owing to their remarkable insulating capacity and their flame retardant nature, they began to be used widely as coolants and lubricants in transformers and other electrical equipment.
PCBs are lipophilic and tend to accumulate in fat tissues of living beings over time. Due to their inert nature they are very persistent in the environment and their natural attenuation is a very slow process. PCBs discharged into rivers concentrate in sediments and may be taken up by fish. Humans who consume fish will also bioaccumulate PCBs. The effects of short-term (acute) exposure to PCBs exhibit in humans in the form of Chloracne, peripheral neuropathy, contact dermatitis, skin irritation and inflammation. Long term (chronic} exposure to PCBs may lead to reproductive and endocrinal disruption, and arguably even cancer.
Traditional remediation technologies have failed to treat matrices contaminated with PCBs. An alternate, effective technology needs to be developed to treat the numerous contaminated sites. This study is the first step in series of experiments aimed at developing an effective method for treating PCB contaminated soils. The objective of the study is to quantify the adsorption of 2-chlorobiphenyl (2-Cl BP) on clays, humic acid and lake bed sediments by conducting bench scale adsorption studies with an aqueous solution of the PCB and the substrates.