Electrokinetic remediation of wood preservative contaminated soil containing copper, chromium, and arsenic

Abstract

As a result of wood treatment, and the recent banning of the copper, chromium, and arsenic (CCA) treated wood for residential use many CCA treatment facilities have been abandoned or being closed. Soil contamination resulting from CCA is common at these sites. In this study, the feasibility of electrokinetic technique to remove CCA from contaminated soil was investigated. To better understand the ionic mobility within the soil and to detect the generation and advancement of acid front, sampling ports were provided along the longitudinal axis of a test cell. To determine the effect of varying current, three tests were performed at different current densities of 5.9, 2.9, and 1.5 mA/cm 2 for a period of 15 days. The initial concentrations of copper, chromium, and arsenic in the soil were 4800, 3100, and 5200 mg/kg, respectively. Dilute nitric acid was used as an amendment to neutralize the hydroxyl ions produced at the cathode. Experiments resulted in removal efficiencies as high as 65% for copper, 72% for chromium, and 77% for arsenic. The results also indicated that the advancement of acid front favored desorption of metals from the soil and the metals were mobilized either as free cations or metal complexes. Chromium that was in its +6 valence state was transported as anion prior to its reduction. However, once the chromium was reduced to chromium(III) its transport direction reversed with transport being favored towards the cathode.