Some intermediates in the wet air oxidation of phenanthrene adsorbed on powdered activated carbon

The tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, phenanthrene, was rapidly destroyed when sorbed on Nuchar SA powdered activated carbon and subjected to conditions typical of wet air regeneration. Hydrodarco H carbon was less efficient. Fifteen intermediate degradation products were identified, ranging in complexity from phenol to oxygenated biphenyl derivatives; degradation appeared to involve the participation of very reactive and unselective oxidants, such as the hydroxyl radical, on the activated carbon surface. Dichloromethane-extractable products with some toxicity to yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were produced during the early stages of wet air regeneration of carbon with sorbed phenanthrene, but the toxicity decreased in later stages. Similar extracts of phenanthrene-loaded and wet air regenerated carbon were not mutagenic in a standard microbial assay (Ames test).