Abstract
The presence of heavy metals in concentrations higher than permissible limits poses an environmental threat to soil and human health. One of the methods that contributes to treating contaminated soil is electro-kinetic method, which is the main focus of this study. Eco-friendly enhanced conditions were used to increase the elimination efficiency of the system. The solution in the electrode compartment was tap water at the specific pH for each test (2, 6, and 10). Organic acid which is lemon peel citric acid (LPCA) was used as an enhanced agent in the removal process; it was mixed with soil to improve the process of dissolution and moving of the cobalt (Co). The concentration of LPCA was 0.5 M. Lemon peels (agricultural wastes) have been used as an inexpensive adsorbent (alternative to expensive commercial adsorbents) to adsorb the contaminant (Co) returning to the soil during the operation of the system due to reverse osmosis. The greatest elimination rate was at a pH equal to 2, where it was 75.3%. The elimination rate increased when using LPCA, reaching 85.1%. Lemon peels showed good potential to adsorb Co returned to the soil chamber due to reverse osmosis. Therefore, the use of these agricultural wastes as adsorbents in adsorption processes is considered eco-friendly and economically beneficial.
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Acknowledgements
We express our sincere thanks and gratitude to the engineers and scientists working in the laboratories of the Environment Engineering Department et al.-Mustansiriya University.
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Laith Hamdan Hawal: conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; investigation; methodology; project administration; resources; supervision; validation; visualization; roles/writing—original draft; and writing—review and editing. Ali Omran Al-Sulttani: resources; funding acquisition; software; roles/writing—original draft; and writing—review and editing; supervision; validation; methodology.
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Hawal, L.H., Al-Sulttani, A.O. Decontamination of Cobalt-Polluted Soils Using an Enhanced Electro-kinetic Method, Employing Eco-friendly Conditions. Water Air Soil Pollut 235, 204 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-07007-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-07007-6