The interactions between three polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), namely fluorene, naphthalene and anthracene, and three fractions of a soil, namely fulvic acid (FA), humic acid (HA) and humin/inorganic fractions, were studied experimentally. Prepared PAH + soil fraction binary mixtures, with PAH concentrations ranging over 0.8-7 mass%, were tested using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) over a temperature range of 20-390 degrees C. The DSC thermograms for the PAH + HA mixtures showed distinctly different characteristics compared to mixtures with the other two soil fractions, where the endothermic peak for the vaporization of the PAH was absent. With the aid of vapour-liquid flash calculations, the lack of the boiling point peak is interpreted to be due to the liquid-phase miscibility of the PAHs and the HA fraction. Implications of the DSC results on the design and performance of the thermal desorption process are discussed.