Soil remediation is the removal of pesticides and other chemical and industrial pollutants that have leached into the dirt and foul the primer coat water supply . Potassium permanganate ( KMO4 ) is one of the chemical substance that is pumped into the earth to dispel the contaminants by oxidize them . Oxidation is the process of changing the chemical science of a compound by adding or take off oxygen mote or radical of atoms called ion .
Chemical Process
atomic number 6 atoms can forge long strongly bonded chains , of import structures of living that are the field of study of organic alchemy . In secular term , K permanganate removes one carbon copy particle from a toxic compound and use it to form carbon dioxide . Potassium permanganate figure out best at oxidate olefin , the simplest of which are the gases butene , ethene and propylene ; these all have a C - carbon copy double shackle of atoms .
Technology
Traditionally , groundwater pollinated by volatile organic compounds have been pull out by a submergible vacuum heart . The extracted water is purified by draw it through activated carbon , sand and other kind of filters . High immersion of pollutants can be remove by pump and treat technology , depend on the soil , but achieving density of underground pollutants low-pitched enough to satisfy remediation standards is difficult .
In surreptitious treatment , called in situ discussion , a 2 to 4 per centum solution of potassium permanganate is inject directly into the source of pollution . chemic oxidation may be used to treat polluted land , ground pee and sediments in a variety of stain including remains and silt .
Uses
Potassium permanganate is specially useful in oxidizing tetrachloroethene ( PCE ) , trichloroethene ( TCE ) and hydroxybenzene , also yell carbolic acid . PCE , used to dry clear vesture , is a usual soil contaminant that is toxic at broken levels ; it is also dense , make it to go under below the water table . PCE is more difficult to cleanse than oil spills . TCE is a toxic industrial dissolving agent that is a common contaminate of drinking water that has been used as an anaesthetic and anodyne . Phenol is also used as an industrial solvent .
Advantages
Injecting potassium permanganate in situ is turn over quicker and less expensive than pump - and - delicacy applied science . It does not buckle under large book of contaminated water that must be make clean and recirculated . Hydrogen peroxide is also used to oxidize underground contaminants , but it is fickle and more costly than potassium permanganate .
Disadvantages
Using potassium permanganate to oxidize grunge contaminants may temporarily affect the ability of the aquifer to transmit fluids in local areas . The aquifer is a layer of permeable underground rock from which wells pull out water .
