Dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls in non-polar media

The paper deals with the application of the KPEG technology to the treatment of both dielectric and lube used oils is reported. the experimental results, achieved by using the two class of oils, are compared in order to evaluate the reduced efficiency of the process when lube oils are treated. The kinetic of the PCBs removal reaction from a mineral oil was determined; the reaction resulted first order relatively to each congener concentration and first order relatively to the polyethylene glycol alkoxide concentration. The calculated kinetic constants for the considered congeners, have showed an exponential correlation with their gas-chromatographic relative retention time. From the kinetic results it is confirmed that the slightly chlorinated PCB are more hardly removed, whereas the more chlorinated PCBs are those more easily eliminated; the kinetics of PCBs removal seems to be strongly affected by their structural conformation and not only by the chlorine content.