catalysts Article Simulated Ageing of Crude Oil and Advanced Oxidation Processes for Water Remediation since Crude Oil Pollution Filomena Lelario 1, Giuliana Bianco 1 , Sabino Aurelio Bufo 1,2,* and Laura Scrano 3 1 Department of Sciences, University of Basilicata, Via dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy; fi
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[email protected] (G.B.) 2 Department of Geography, Environmental Management & Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2092, South Africa 3 Department of European Cultures (DICEM), University of Basilicata, 75100 Matera, Italy;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +39-0971-6237 Abstract: Crude oil can undergo biotic and abiotic transformation processes in the environment. This article deals with the fate of an Italian crude oil under simulated solar irradiation to understand (i) the modification induced on its composition by artificial ageing and (ii) the transformations arising from different advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) applied as oil-polluted water remediation methods. The AOPs adopted were photocatalysis, sonolysis and, simultaneously, photocatalysis and sonolysis (sonophotocatalysis). Crude oil and its water-soluble fractions underwent analysis using GC-MS, liquid-state 1H-NMR, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS), and fluorescence. The crude oil after light irradiation showed (i) significant modifications induced by the artificial ageing on its composition and (ii) the formation of potentially toxic substances. The treatment produced oil oxidation with a particular effect of double bonds oxygenation. Non-polar compounds present in the water-soluble oil fraction showed a strong presence of branched alkanes Citation: Lelario, F.; Bianco, G.; Bufo, S.A.; Scrano, L.