REMOVAL OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS FROM RUNOFF USING NATURAL SORBENTS

The uses of two natural sorbents, kapok and cattail fibers, and a commercial sorbent, polyester fiber, for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) removal from runoff were investigated. Naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene and fluoranthene were the PAHs studied. The PAH sorption and retention capabilities of the three fibers were determined using batch system and continuous flow column experiments under noncompetitive and competitive conditions. For the batch experiment, cattail fiber exhibited the highest sorption capacity. Kapok fiber had the lowest PAH retention capability while cattail fiber had slightly less PAH retention capability than polyester fiber. There was a weak degree of competitive sorption between PAHs in bi-solute systems. For the column experiment, most PAHs exhibited similar sorption and desorption characteristics. Cattail and polyester fibers showed higher sorption capacities than kapok fiber for most PAHs. Cattail fiber provided very promising results as a sorbent for removing PAHs from runoff.