Sequentially Enhanced Electrokinetic Remediation of Heavy Metals in Low Buffering Clayey Soils

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation undertaken to evaluate different purging solutions to enhance the removal of multiple heavy metals, particularly chromium, nickel, and cadmium, from a low buffering clay, specifically kaolin, during electrokinetic remediation. Experiments were conducted on kaolin spiked with Cr(VI), Ni(II), and Cd(II) in concentrations of 1,000, 500, and 250 mg/kg, respectively, which simulate typical electroplating waste contamination. A total of five different tests were performed to investigate the effect of different electrode purging solutions on the electrokinetic remedial efficiency. A constant DC voltage gradient of 1 V/cm was applied for all the tests. The removal of heavy metals from the soil using tap water as the purging solution was very low. When 1 M acetic acid was used as the purging solution in the cathode, the removal of chromium, nickel, and cadmium was increased to 20, 19, and 13%, respectively. Using 0.1 M ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid as the purging solution in the cathode, 83% of the initial Cr was removed; however, the nickel and cadmium removal was very low. A sequentially enhanced electrokinetic remediation approach involving the use of water as a purging solution at both the anode and cathode initially, followed by the use of acetic acid as the cathode purging solution and a NaOH alkaline solution as the anode purging solution was tested. This sequential approach resulted in a maximum removal of chromium, nickel, and cadmium of 68–71, 71–73, and 87–94%, respectively. This study shows that the sequential use of appropriate electrode purging solutions, rather than a single electrode purging solution, is necessary to remediate multiple heavy metals in soils using electrokinetics.