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Efficacy of Electrokinetics in Remediating Soft Clay Slurries Contaminated with Cadmium and Copper

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Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of electrokinetics to remediate two identical soft kaolinite clay slurries with a water content of 70%. The first slurry was contaminated with copper at a concentration of 150 mg/kg of dry soil and the second with cadmium at the same concentration. The tests were performed in four identical electrokinetic columns (two for the electrokinetics tests and two for control) with a volume capacity of 14 L. An electric field intensity of 140 V/m was applied during 118 h of remediation with the top electrode serving as the anode (+ ve) and the bottom electrode acting as the cathode (− ve). The results showed that electrokinetics removed 2070 mL of water from the soil with copper contamination (compared to only 693 mL in the control test) and 1828 mL of water from the soils with cadmium contamination (compared to 839 mL in the control test). Electrokinetics was successful in removing significant portion of the copper and cadmium from most of the contaminated soil with the highest removal in copper (67%) and in cadmium (89%) in the soil sections near the anode. Electrokinetics was more effective in mobilizing the cadmium in the clay soil as compared to copper. Energy consumption determination revealed that electrokinetic remediation was successful in the removal of copper and cadmium from the section near the anode at rates of 77 and 100 mg/kg per kWh, respectively.

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The authors declare that (the/all other) data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

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Funding

The research is funded by a research grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) awarded for the second author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawarah, Saudi Arabia

    Ikrema Hassan

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

    Eltayeb Mohamedelhassan

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  1. Ikrema Hassan
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  2. Eltayeb Mohamedelhassan
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Correspondence to Eltayeb Mohamedelhassan.

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Hassan, I., Mohamedelhassan, E. Efficacy of Electrokinetics in Remediating Soft Clay Slurries Contaminated with Cadmium and Copper. Water Air Soil Pollut 232, 289 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05250-9

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