Electrochemical remediation in soil has the potential of being an effective method for removing heavy metal contaminants from soil. The remediation of heavy metals is important, because these metals are toxic to plant and animal life that live within polluted zones. The main danger of these metals is their capability to bioaccumulate within biological organisms over time. Since these heavy metals are natural elements, they cannot simply be degraded or destroyed. Therefore, the metals must be physically removed through the methods of remediation. The most common method of removing these toxic metals, is to dig up the top layer of soil. Depending on the severity of pollution, it would require digging several meters into the ground for the entire polluted area. Digging up this top layer of soil is very invasive to the local environment by completely stripping it from essential minerals and plants. A more cost effective and less invasive answer for remediation is electrochemical remediation. In this investigation, the targeted metals Cd, Cu, and Pb will undergo electro kinetic test to assess the movement of heavy metals through spiked kaolin soil and spiked potting soil. The purpose of this is to determine if electrochemical remediation is a viable method that can be used in various soil variants. The electroosmotic flow, electromigration, and electroconductivity, will be tested to determine the ability of movement in the soil. The electro kinetic test conducted, will use the conditioning agent citric acid (as an electrolyte to give the soil a constant acidic pH), and a constant voltage gradient of 1 VDC/cm. It is hypothesized that the potting soil will be more effective than kaolin soil due to its due its mineral enriched soil.

Assessing the movement of heavy metals through soil using electro kinetic remediation processes

2019 Spring National Meeting

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