The majority of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)released to the environment come from anthropogenic sourcesinvolving the incomplete combustion of organic compounds.Several techniques are available for the degradation ofPAHs. Among the abiotic/biotic processes used to degradePAHs, an alternative strategy utilizing a primary chemicaloxidative step to be combined with a biological wascreated. The degradation of
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-methylnaphthalene and benzo[
a]pyrene using an advanced oxidation process wasoptimized over a period of 24 h by varying the ratio ofacetic acid to hydrogen peroxide, the compounds that formperoxy acids. The optimization process was performedusing sandy and
silty-
clay sediment types. Gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector wasused to determine the varied rates of degradation dependingon acetic acid:hydrogen peroxide ratios and the characteristics of the sediment sample. Reduction of 20-90% of
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-methylnaphthalene and benzo[
a]pyrene was observedwhen 2-5 mL of hydrogen peroxide was used, respectively.A peracetic acid solution (e.g., a commercial form ofacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide) was used to comparethe results from the peroxy acid experiments. In all theexperiments, peracetic acid was more reactive than thecombination of acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Aceticacid, deionized water, and hydrogen peroxide served ascontrols and demonstrated minimal degradation over thetime course study. Therefore, the use of a peroxy acid processto target electron dense pollutants may have a greatutility.