Abstract

The use of an alternative technique as a management strategy for the decontamination of hydrocarbon-based pollution in soil has been advanced in this work. The study investigated the degradation of anthracene, a three-ringed benzene derivative, in clay soil at ambient conditions under the influence of hydrophilic compound (carbon), thermally activated at temperatures of 300, 500, 700 and 900^oC. The soil (500 g) was impacted with 1:1 of the contaminant anthracene and activated carbon from groundnut shell in a water medium at a flow rate of 5.0 ml/min. Experimental results revealed that there was a significant reduction in the level of anthracene in the soil matrix with time. The percentage reduction was found to be directly dependent on the activation temperature. The estimated reaction rate constant was found to be 0.014/h (control sample without activated carbon) while for the experimental samples, the values ranged from 0.018 - 0.051/h. The study therefore affirms that the presence of activated carbon in microbial degradation of anthracene, elicits an enhanced disappearance rate of the hydrocarbon.

Key words: Anthracene, management strategy, activated carbon, groundnut shell, microbial degradation.