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The Effect Of Temperature On Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Persistence In An Unacclimated Agricultural Soil, M. P. Coover, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the effect of temperature on the persistence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) incubated in an unacclimated agricultural sandy loam soil. Soil microcosms were spiked with 16 priority pollutant PAHs and placed in incubation chambers at 10, 20, and 30°C. Triplicate sets of microcosms at each temperature were periodically removed from incubation over the 240 day study period and solvent extracted. Concentrations of PAHs in the soil were determined by HPLC analysis of the extracts. Substantial loss of three-ring compounds was observed at all temperatures whereas there was very little apparent loss of five …