Photochemical Transformation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons on Solid Particles

Abstract Photochemical transformation and adsorption of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAH, e.g., phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene, on the different particulate matter: alumina, silica and oil-shale fly ash were investigated. Fly ash from oil-shale thermal power plants is characterised by a small specific surface area and a low adsorption capacity in comparison to commercial adsorbents. The surface on which PAH were adsorbed have a strong effect on their decay. The phototransformation efficiency of the PAH studied was largest for silica, followed by alumina. PAH were more resistant to photochemical transformation on fly ash than on alumina and silica. Variation in decay rates between the different PAH on any given matrix was found to be significant. Phenanthrene was much less photochemically reactive than pyrene, and especially anthracene, on any particulate matter used in this study. Nonphotochemical degradation (autoxidation) of PAH on alumina, silica and fly ash was found to be negligible. S...