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Pressure-assisted cyclic washing of heavy-metal-contaminated sediments

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Abstract

Remediation of heavy-metal-contaminated sediment is often hampered by the availability of heavy metals to the added chemical agents because the heavy metals are often shielded by the sediment matrix. Effective heavy-metal extraction technique becomes an important factor in enhancing the treatment efficiency. A novel extraction/washing technique utilizing chelating agent and elevated pressure in consecutive cycles of compression and decompression has been developed for heavy-metal-contaminated sediment washing in the presence of chelating agent. In this study, the optimal operational conditions of pressure-assisted cyclic washing of Cu-contaminated sediments (initial Cu concentration = 23.177 mg/kg) were determined in a laboratory-scale system. The control factors included applied pressure level, washing time, applied chelant [ethylenediamine-tertraacetic (EDTA)] concentration (0.01–0.5 M), pressure times, and application of consecutive batches washing. Results from the bench-scale study showed that up to 70 % of Cu can be removed from the sediments when 10 atm of pressure was applied for washing. The efficiency dropped to 55 % when the pressure dropped to 6 atm. Under the same operational conditions, the optimal cyclic washing time was 60 min. Results from the particle size analyses indicate that the mean particle size dropped from 100 to 50 μm after the pressure-assisted cyclic washing. Thus, cyclic pressure caused the fracture of sediment aggregates resulting in the exposure of Cu to chelating agents. With the assistance of pressure cyclic system, the total washing time and the amount of added chemical agent used can be significantly reduced.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded in part by Taiwan National Science Council (Grant No. NSC99-2221-E-110-027-MY3). Additional thanks are extended to the personnel at China Steel Co., Taiwan and Kaohsiung Environmental Protection Bureau, Kaohsiung, Taiwan for their assistance and support throughout this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, 804, Taiwan

    C. E. Lin, H. Y. Chiu & C. M. Kao

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    P. K. A. Hong

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA

    R. Y. Surampalli

  4. Department of Marine Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung Marine University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    C. T. Lin

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  1. C. E. Lin
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  2. P. K. A. Hong
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  4. R. Y. Surampalli
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Correspondence to C. M. Kao.

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Lin, C.E., Hong, P.K.A., Chiu, H.Y. et al. Pressure-assisted cyclic washing of heavy-metal-contaminated sediments. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 11, 1017–1026 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-013-0304-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-013-0304-2

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