Review on the contamination and remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in coastal soil and sediments

Dai C 1 , Han Y 1 , Duan Y 2 , Lai X 3 , Fu R 4 , Liu S 1 Show all authors , Leong KH 5 , Tu Y 6 , Zhou L 7

Affiliations 

  • 1 College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, PR China
  • 2 Institute of Urban Studies, School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Rd., Shanghai, 200234, PR China; Yangtze River Delta Urban Wetland Ecosystem National Field Observation and Research Station, Shanghai, 200234, China. Electronic address: duanyanping@shnu.edu.cn
  • 3 College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, PR China
  • 4 State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, PR China
  • 5 Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, Kampar, 31900, Perak, Malaysia
  • 6 Institute of Urban Studies, School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Rd., Shanghai, 200234, PR China; Yangtze River Delta Urban Wetland Ecosystem National Field Observation and Research Station, Shanghai, 200234, China
  • 7 Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 301 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
Environ Res, 2022 Apr 01;205:112423.
PMID: 34838568 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112423

Abstract

The rapid economic and population growth in coastal areas is causing increasingly serious polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution in these regions. This review compared the PAHs pollution characteristics of different coastal areas, including industrial zones, commercial ports, touristic cities, aquacultural & agricultural areas, oil & gas exploitation areas and megacities. Currently there are various treatment methods to remediate soils and sediments contaminated with PAHs. However, it is necessary to provide a comprehensive overview of all the available remediation technologies up to date, so appropriate technologies can be selected to remediate PAHs pollution. In view of that, we analyzed the characteristics of the remediation mechanism, summarized the remediation methods for soil or sediments in coastal areas, which were physical repair, chemical oxidation, bioremediation and integrated approaches. Besides, this review also reported the development of new multi-functional green and sustainable systems, namely, micro-nano bubble (MNB), biochar, reversible surfactants and peracetic acid. While physical repair, expensive but efficient, was regarded as a suitable method for the PAHs remediation in coastal areas because of land shortage, integrated approaches would produce better results. The ultimate aim of the review was to ensure the successful restructuring of PAHs contaminated soil and sediments in coastal areas. Due to the environment heterogeneity, PAHs pollution in coastal areas remains as a daunting challenge. Therefore, new and suitable technologies are still needed to address the environmental issue.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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