Vegetable oils extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from an Algerian quagmire

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carcinogenic substances which are resistant to environmental degradation due to their high hydrophobic nature. Soil contaminated with PAHs pose potential risks to human and ecological health, therefore concern over their adverse effects have resulted in extensive studies on their removal from contaminated soils. The main propose of this work was to extract this pollutants from two real quagmire samples from the region of Hassi Messaoud (Algeria), using three kinds of vegetable oils (Peanut oil, rapeseed oil, and coconut oil) which are naturals, cost effectives, and biodegradables extractors at two different temperatures (30 and 70 °C). Three PAHs that are representing of their present in contaminated quagmire were characterized using IR-FTIR and HPLC