PCB Removal
Environmental Chemistry Research at UCF

PCB stands for Polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs are a cocktail of chemicals, first created in the 1920's, that were used in the manufacturing process of numerous items: from electronics to paints. In the 1970's, PCBs were linked to environmental and medical problems-including cancer in humans-and were consequently discontinued. Today, PCBs are illegal to produce, but many older products (such as rocket launch platforms and navy ships) contain PCBs and are still in use.

Using nano-sized iron and magnesium particles in a special process, Drs. Christian A. Clausen and Cherie L. Geiger have found a way to safely breakdown the PCBs in materials without harming any of the surrounding structures. This process is much better than current PCB-removal technology, which simply consist of burying PCB-laden objects in a landfill.

When will the PCB removal process be ready for public use? UCF chemists, with support from NASA, have been working on this technology for the past three years. This spring they will conduct the first large-scale field test of the PCB-removing chemicals, but since they have already conducted many laboratory tests, no one is worried about the results.

For More Information
     Christian A. Clausen, Cherie L. Geiger
     Department of Chemistry, CH 117
     University of Central Florida
     Orlando, FL 32816