PAHs soil decontamination in two steps: Desorption and electrochemical treatment

Abstract. The presence of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils poses a potential threat to human health if exposure levels are too high. Nevertheless, the removal of these contaminants presents a challenge to scientists and engineers. The high hydrophobic nature of PAHs enables their strong sorption onto soil or sediments. Thus, the use of surfactants could favour t…