Hydrocarbon contamination is of great worry because of their widespread effect on all forms of life. Pollution caused by increasing the use of crude oil is ordinary because of its extensive application and its related transport and dumping problems. Crude oil contains a complex mixture of aliphatic, aromatic, and heterocyclic compounds. Soil naturally consists of heavy metals, and due to human action like refining of oil and use of pesticides, their concentration in soil is rising. Several areas have such high heavy metal and metalloid concentration that surrounding natural ecosystem has been badly affected. The reason is that heavy metals and metalloids limit microbe's activity rendering it unsuitable for hydrocarbon degradation, thus reducing its effectiveness. Environmental remediation is thus extremely necessary and involves with the elimination of pollutants from soil, air, and water. In the last several decades, different methods have been employed and applied for the cleanup of our environment which includes mechanical, chemical, and biochemical remediation methods. The hydrocarbon pollution consists of many aspects like oil spills, fossil fuels, organic pollutants like aromatics, etc. that are discussed below.

Oxidation of benzaldehyde and p-nitrobenzaldehyde by cerium(IV) sulphate in aqueous sulphuric acid is strongly catalyzed by iridium(III) chloride. The complex formed between cerium(IV) and the organic substrate in the first equilibrium step gives another complex in the presence of iridium(III), which ultimately gives the corresponding aromatic acids as the product of oxidation. The order of the reaction follows first-order kinetics at low concentrations to zero order at higher concentrations of both the oxidant and organic substrate. The rate is directly proportional to the concentration of catalyst, but decreases sharply with increasing H + ions and cerium(III) concentrations, while change in ionic strength of the medium or the concentration of acetic acid and Cl -ions has no effect on the rate.

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