Pilot Scale Ex-Situ Electrokinetic Remediation of Arsenic-Contaminated Soil

Abstract

In this study, the effectiveness of ex situ electrokinetic remediation (EKR) in treating actual As-contaminated soil was evaluated at a pilot scale (1 m [W] × 1 m [L] × 1.5 m [H]). Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and sodium hydroxide as the catholyte and anolyte, respectively, were circulated to enhance the desorption of As. Two types of soil were collected from a real contaminated agricultural area: silty loam from a rice paddy and sandy clay loam from dry land. An average of 78% of the As was removed from the two types of soil after 8 weeks, and the residual As concentration met the level set by Korean legal regulations. The average removal rates were 1.06 and 1.55 mg/kg/day, respectively, for the paddy and dry field soil samples. In addition, fractionation analysis showed that most other fractions and even a large portion of the residual fraction were removed after EKR. The ex situ application provided electrolyte more uniformly to the entire soil sample; therefore, there was no significant var...