ELECTROKINETIC REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATED SOIL BASED ON IMPROVING SOIL ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

An electrokinetic remediation technique taking Cr(VI) as an example is proposed to improve the conductivity of contaminated soil, which significantly increases the current density in the soil. The improvement of soil conductivity was achieved by continuous spraying of NaCl solution with a concentration of 4 g.dm(-3) on the soil surface. The distances of electrode pairs were 2.0 m and 1.5 m, respectively. The heavy metal-contaminated soil thickness was 25 cm, and the DC power supply voltage was 90 V. The experiment demonstrated that under the condition of continuous spraying of NaCl solution on the soil surface, the current density variation was related to the salt content in the soil, and the current density in the soil generally increased linearly with time. The effectiveness of soil remediation is related to the electric field strength and current density, and there exists an optimal electric field that can reduce the heavy metal content in the soil at any point by minimizing the electric field strength and current density. Most of the heavy metals can be concentrated within a diameter of about 15 cm around the anode under the optimal electric field, which can be remediated after removing the soil.