abstract: Petroleum contamination is ubiquitous during extraction, transportation, refining, and storage. Contamination damages the soil’s ecosystem function, reduces its aesthetics, and poses a potential threat to human beings. The overall goals of this dissertation are to advance understanding of the mechanisms behind ozonation of petroleum-contaminated soil and to configure an effective integrated bioremediation + ozonation remedial strategy to remove the overall organic carbon. Using a soil column, I conducted batch ozonation experiments for different soils and at different moisture levels. I measured multiple parameters: e.g., total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), to build a full understanding of the data that led to the solid conclusions. I first demonstrated the feasibility of using ozone to attack heavy petroleum hydrocarbons in soil settings. I identified the physical and chemical hurdles (e.g., moisture, mass transfer, pH) needed to be overcome to make the integration of chemical oxidation and biodegradation more efficient and defines the mechanisms behind the experimental observations. Next, I completed a total carbon balance, which revealed that multiple components, including soil organic matter (SOM) and non-TPH petroleum, competed for ozone, although TPH was relatively more reactive. Further experiments showed that poor soil mixing and high soil-moisture content hindered mass transfer of ozone to react with the TPH. Finally, I pursued the theme of optimizing the integration of ozonation and biodegradation through a multi-stage strategy. I conducted multi-stages of ozonation and bioremediation for two benchmark soils with distinctly different oils to test if and how much ozonation enhanced biodegradation and vice versa. With pH and moisture optimized for each step, pre-ozonation versus post-ozonation was assessed for TPH removal and mineralization. Multi-cycle treatment was able to achieve the TPH regulatory standard when biodegradation alone could not. Ozonation did not directly enhance the biodegradation rate of TPH; instead, ozone converted TPH into DOC that was biodegraded and mineralized. The major take-home lesson from my studies is that multi-stage ozonation + biodegradation is a useful remediation tool for petroleum contamination in soil. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2018

Submitted by Biblioteca de Pós-Graduação em Geoquímica BGQ (bgq@ndc.uff.br) on 2016-05-02T17:58:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 GALLOTTA_30_06_14.pdf: 62695484 bytes, checksum: 33335ee3affc2bcffb11fc10caf9ae3f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-02T17:58:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GALLOTTA_30_06_14.pdf: 62695484 bytes, checksum: 33335ee3affc2bcffb11fc10caf9ae3f (MD5) / Universidade Federal Fluminense. Instituto de Química. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências-Geoquímica. Niterói, RJ / Os hidrocarbonetos presentes no ambiente consistem em misturas complexas de compostos derivados de múltiplas fontes. Os combustíveis fósseis representam a principal contribuição, devido à taxa e escala espacial, em que o petróleo tem sido usado como fonte de energia e matéria-prima para a indústria química. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os níveis de concentração e identificar fontes de hidrocarbonetos na Bacia do Alto Iguaçu e, em especial, na área de influência da Refinaria Presidente Getúlio Vargas (REPAR). Além dos fatores de poluição crônica, a área de estudo foi alvo de um derrame acidental de petróleo em julho de 2000. Diversos indicadores em diferentes compartimentos ambientais (água superficial, sedimento, solo e água subterrânea) foram avaliados na fase pós-derrame e no monitoramento ambiental ao longo de várias campanhas por mais de uma década. Os esforços de avaliação foram concentrados nos seguintes indicadores: os nalcanos, os alcanos isoprenoides, os hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos (HPA), os biomarcadores de petróleo e ainda o total de hidrocarbonetos de petróleo (THP). Os resultados identificaram como principal aporte de matéria orgânica para as águas superficiais dos rios Barigüi e Iguaçu, os fluxos materiais originados em região a montante do acidente, refletindo a contribuição antropogênica crônica da cidade de Curitiba. Em 2007 e 2008, as concentrações de THP e HPA nas águas superficiais e sedimentos dos rios Barigüi e Iguaçu refletem uma expressiva melhoria nas condições desses rios em relação a 2000. Na área interna da refinaria (Ponto Zero), observou-se uma nítida diminuição (atenuação) natural das concentrações de THP no solo em todas as profundidades dos perfis amostrados ao longo do tempo nos Banhados 1 e 4 e, em particular, uma diminuição importante das concentrações entre 2004 e 2007. Para a identificação das fontes de hidrocarbonetos foram utilizadas razões diagnósticas e quimiometria. As razões diagnósticas calculadas a partir de concentrações de HPA sugeriram que, na maioria dos sedimentos dos Rios Barigüi e Iguaçu coletados nas campanhas de 2000 e 2001, a fonte petrogênica é a principal. Somente na estação a montante do acidente no Rio Barigüi, a fonte pirolítica predominou nestas duas campanhas. As razões diagnósticas que apresentaram maior eficiência na identificação de fontes de hidrocarbonetos nos sedimentos dos rios Barigüi e Iguaçu foram: ΣC1-Fenantrenos/Fenantreno; e (ΣHPA parentais de 3-6 anéis)/(Σ5 séries de HPA alquilados). A identificação de fontes através de razões diagnósticas calculadas a partir de áreas e alturas de picos cromatográficos demonstrou sua aplicabilidade verificando a relação entre os compostos encontrados em amostras de solo da área interna da refinaria com a amostra de petróleo derramado no acidente, após quase uma década da ocorrência do vazamento. A identificação de fontes através método de quimiométrico baseado na análise de componentes principais (ACP) de seções pré-processadas e combinadas dos Cromatogramas de Íons Selecionados (CIS) mostrou que as amostras mais contaminadas estão na área interna da refinaria. Essas amostras apresentam um padrão de distribuição petrogênica e diferentes graus de intemperismo. As amostras da área externa à refinaria (Guajuvira, General Lúcio e Balsa Nova) são menos ou não contaminadas e/ou contém uma mistura de contribuições diagenéticas, pirolíticas e petrogênicas onde predominam diferentes proporções. Os locais mais distantes da atividade industrial (Balsa Nova) contem, como esperado, os níveis mais baixos de contaminação por HPA. Os resultados de biomarcadores demonstraram que não há evidências para concluir que as amostras da área externa à refinaria e o óleo Cusiana vazado tenham a mesma origem. Os resultados ao longo dos rios Barigüi e Iguaçu e do Ponto Zero demonstraram que as ações de emergência para a contenção do óleo foram adequadas para os rios, e que a contaminação decorrente do derrame ficou predominantemente contida no Ponto Zero e diminuiu significativamente após uma década. / Hydrocarbons present in the environment consist of complex mixtures of compounds derived from multiple sources. The main contribution lies on fossil fuel inputs due to the rate and spatial scale by which petroleum has been used as an energy source and chemical feedstock. The aim of this study was to assess the concentration levels and identify sources of hydrocarbons in the Upper Iguaçu Watershed and, in particular, in the area of influence of the President Getulio Vargas Refinery (REPAR). In addition to the factors of chronic pollution, the study area was the scenario of an acute accidental oil spill in July 2000. Numerous indicators in different environmental compartments (surface water, sediment, soil and groundwater) were assessed in the post spill phase and during the environmental monitoring programs over the course of several campaigns for more than a decade. Assessment efforts were concentrated on the following indicators: n-alkanes, alkanes isoprenoids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), petroleum biomarkers and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). The results identified as the main contribution of organic matter to surface waters of the Barigüi and Iguaçu Rivers the materials flows originated in the region upstream of the accident, reflecting chronic anthropogenic contribution of the city of Curitiba. In 2007 and 2008, the TPH and PAH concentrations in surface waters and sediments of the Barigüi and Iguaçu Rivers revealed a significant improvement in the conditions of these rivers when compared with 2000. Inside the refinery area (Point Zero), it was observed a clear natural decrease (attenuation) of the concentrations of TPH in the soil at all depths sampled over time in Marshes 1 and 4 and, in particular, an important decrease of concentrations between 2004 and 2007. Diagnostic ratios and chemometrics were used to identity hydrocarbon sources. The diagnostic ratios calculated from the concentrations of PAH suggested that, in the majority of sediments from the Barigüi and Iguaçu Rivers collected in 2000 and 2001 campaigns, the main source is petrogenic. Only in the station upstream the accident in the Barigüi River, the pyrolytic source predominated in these two campaigns. The diagnostic ratios that presented higher efficiency in identifying sources of hydrocarbons in sediments of the Barigüi and Iguaçu Rivers were: ΣC1- Phenantrenes/Phenanthrene; and (Σ3-6 rings parental PAH)/(Σ5 alkylated PAH series). The source identification through diagnostic ratios calculated from heights and areas of chromatographic peaks demonstrated its applicability establishing a relationship between the compounds found in soil samples of the internal area of the refinery and the sample of the oil spilled in the accident, after nearly a decade of occurrence of the spillage. The source identification through chemometric method based on principal components analysis (PCA) of preprocessed and combined sections of Selected Ion Chromatograms (SIC) showed that the most contaminated samples are inside the refinery area. These samples present a petrogenic pattern and different weathering degrees. Samples from outside the refinery area (Guajuvira, General Lúcio e Balsa Nova) are either less or not contaminated, and/or contain mixtures of diagenetic, pyrogenic and petrogenic inputs where different proportions predominate. The locations farthest away from industrial activity (Balsa Nova) contain, as expected, the lowest levels of PAH contamination. The biomarkers results do not show any evidences to conclude positive matches between the samples from outside the refinery area and the spilled Cusiana oil. The results along Barigüi and Iguaçu rivers and Point Zero demonstrated that emergency actions to contain the oil were appropriate for the rivers, and that the contamination resulting from the spill was mostly contained in the Point Zero and decreased significantly after one decade