Soil contamination by metals is a worldwide environmental problem. Electrokinetic extraction is a promising technology for in-situ remediation of contaminated soils of low hydraulic permeability. However, the extraction of metals is usually hindered by the high buffer capacity of natural soils. Organophosphonates are strong metal chelates as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid(EDTA) which has been widely studied in the enhancement of electrokinetic remediation. In this study, batch desorption experiments and bench-scale electrokinetic extraction experiments were carried out to study the effect of two organophosphonates, i.e.,(nitrilotrimethylene)triphosphonate(NTMP) &(ethylenedinitrilo)-tetramethylenephosphonate(EDTMP), on the extraction of cadmium from a natural clay in comparison with EDTA. Results of the batch desorption experiments showed that more than 75% of the sorbed cadmium could be dissolved into solution using 0.1 mol·L^(-1) organophosphonates or EDTA in the wide p H range of 1–11. Results of the electrokinetic extraction experiments showed that the cadmium spiked in the specimen migrated towards the anode with the enhancement of NTMP,EDTMP, and EDTA under a constant voltage gradient of approximately 1.0 V·cm-1. Although cadmium mobilization enhanced by EDTA was more efficient than that by the organophosphonates, accumulation of cadmium was observed in the vicinity of the anode. The average removal efficiencies of cadmium from the soil after approximately 5 days of electrokinetic extraction enhanced by 0.1 mol·L-1 NTMP(22.8%) and EDTMP(22.4%) were higher than that by 0.1 mol·L^(-1) EDTA(15.1%).
Electrochemical extraction of contaminants from soils is a promising soil decontamination technology. Various experiments have been conducted to study electrochemical reactions and geochemical processes in the electrochemical extraction using different experimental apparatuses. This paper presents the development of a new closed two-dimensional(2D) apparatus that can better simulate the field application of the technology and accurately monitor the most important electrochemical parameters to understand the process. The innovative features of the new apparatus include the outer and inner electrodes designed to apply a non-uniform electrical field across the specimen as in the field electrochemical remediation process, the probes installed to measure the 2D distribution of electrical voltage, and the gas and fluid volume measurement devices used to accurately monitor the gas generation and electroosmotic flow rates at both electrodes as a function of time. The components of this new apparatus and the features of each component are described. The operating procedure and some typical results from three experiments with the apparatus are demonstrated. The results show that the variation of the gas generation rate is in good agreement with the electric current. Their relation provides a valid evaluation for electrochemical behavior of the system and Faraday's laws of electrolysis. The 2D profiles of cadmium concentration and voltage distribution at the end of the experiment reveal the great effects of a non-uniform electrical field on the contaminant mobilization.
