Subcritical water acts like an organic solvent at elevated temperature in terms of its physicochemical properties. Taking into account this advantage, the remediation experiments of benzo[a]pyrene contaminated soil (8.45 mg/kg of initial concentration) were conducted using subcritical water extraction apparatus. The effect of operating factors on the removal efficiency was studied at the varying the conditions of the water temperature ranging $200{\sim}300^{\circ}C$, extraction time 30~90 min, and flow rate 0.3~2.0 mL/min. 12 g of benzo[a]pyrene contaminated soil was inserted into the extraction cell and placed into the reactor and then the subcritical water was driven through the cell. In this study, the removal efficiency of benzo[a]pyrene was increased from 55.1 to 98.1% when the temperature increased from 200 to $300^{\circ}C$. The removal efficiency was decreased from 97.0 to 77.0% when the flow rate increased from 0.3 to 2.0 mL/min, suggesting that the extraction is limited by intra-particle diffusion. The 30 min reaction time was determined as an effective treatment time at $250^{\circ}C$. Based on the results, the optimum condition for the remediation of benzo[a]pyrene contaminated soil was suggested to be $250^{\circ}C$, 30 min, and 0.3 mL/min.

Keywords: Subcritical water;Benzo[a]pyrene;Removal efficiency;Extraction;Soil remediation;