Electrokinetic Removal of Heavy Metals

Kim, S. O., Moon, S. H., Kim, K. W., and Yun, S. T. (2002b). Pilot scale study of the ex-situ electrokinetic removal of heavy metals from municipal wastewater sludges. Water. Res. 36, 4765-4774. 

Reddy, K. R., Xu, C. Y., and Chinthamreddy, S. (2001). Assessment of electrokinetic removal of heavy metals from soils by sequential extraction. J. Hazard. Mater. 84(2-3), 279-296. 

Numerous studies are reported on the electrokinetic removal of heavy metals from soils (Chapter 4). Many of these studies used ideal soils, often kaolinite, as a representative low-permeabiUty soil, which were spiked with a selected single cationic metal (such as lead and cadmium) in predetermined concentration. The spiked soil is loaded in a small-scale electrokinetic test setup and electric potential is applied. The transport and removal of the metal after specified test duration are determined. It is shown that cationic metals exist in soluble ionic form due to reduced pH near the anode regions and they are transported toward the cathode. However, when they reach near the cathode, they get sorbed or precipitated due to increased pH resulting from OH transport from the cathode. The actual removal from the soil is often negligible. 

Kim SO, Kim KW. (2001). Monitoring of electrokinetic removal of heavy metals in tailing-sods nsing seqnential extraction analysis. Journal of Hazardous Materiab 85(3) 195-211. 

Ribeiro AB. (1994). Electrokinetic removal of heavy metals from a polluted soil. In Cornett Course—Pollution Control and Removal of Pollutants (Nitrates, Nitrites, Heavy Metals) from surface and groundwaters. March 21-23, Lisbon, Portugal Instituto Superior Tecnico. 

Kim SO, Kim KW, Stuben D. (2002). Evaluation of electrokinetic removal of heavy metals from tailing soils. Journal of Environmental Engineering 128(8) 705-715. 

Ottosen et al. [16] compiled literature with results obtained on laboratory and pilot scale with electrokinetic removal of heavy metals from industrially polluted soil. The general trend was that for Cd, Cu, and Zn good removal was obtained in most investigated soil types by applying the electric potential to the soil, utilizing the acidic front developing from the anode for heavy metal mobilization, as described in Fig. 1. In many cases, 80-98 % of the heavy metals are removed (both on lab scale and field scale). For... 

Ottosen LM, Hansen HK, Jensen PE (2009) Electrokinetic removal of heavy metals. In Reddy KR, Cameselle C (eds) Electrochemical remediation technologies for polluted soils, sediments and groundwater, 1st edn. Wiley, New York... 

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