Electrokinetic remediation of metal contaminated glacial tills

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation which studied the feasibility of using the electrokinetic process to remediate contaminated clays of glacial origin, otherwise known as glacial tills. An overview of the electrokinetic phenomena, as well as previously performed laboratory and field investigations, is first presented. The methodology of the electrokinetic experiments which were conducted to investigate the removal of metals from a glacial till is then described. A total of 16 experiments were conducted using glacial till samples obtained from a project site near Chicago. Sodium and calcium were used as the surrogate cationic metallic contaminants. These experiments demonstrated that ion transport during the electrokinetic process occurs due to both electro-osmosis and electromigration, but that due to electromigration is significantly higher than that due to electro-osmosis. Unlike other clays such as kaolinite, the glacial till used for this investigation possessed high buffering capacity because of its high carbonate content which prevented the acid front migration from the anode to the cathode during the electrokinetic process. The ion removal efficiency of the electrokinetic process was found to increase when: (1) the voltage gradient applied to the soil was increased, (2) the initial concentration of the contaminants was increased, and (3) the duration of the treatment process was increased. The ion removal efficiency was also greater for smaller ions which possess less ionic charge and when the ions existed independently in the soil as compared to when they coexisted. This investigation suggests that the electrokinetic process has significant potential for remediating glacial tills contaminated with metals. However, the properties of Na and Ca are not representative of contaminants, such as heavy metals, so further investigations are needed.     

电动力学技术在受污染地下水和土壤修复中新进展

综述了电动力学技术的原理及其在受污染土壤和地下水修复方面的应用.电动力学技术利用电渗析、电迁移和电泳使土壤孔隙中的水和荷电离子或粒子发生迁移运动.大量研究表明,电动力学技术能够高效地去除土壤和地下水中的重金属离子.最新研究表明电动力学技术也能够直接去除有机污染物,其与生物修复优化组合有可能成为高效"绿色"修复技术.这种技术具有安装方便、操作简单和成本低廉的特点,而且不影响生态环境,是非常有发展前景的一种环境修复技术.     

利用动电模型分析黏土渗流的耦合动力学性状

从水头?诱导电位耦合驱动的角度,探讨分析黏土?水溶液体系的流体动力学性状。为此,借助动电输运原理,耦合Poisson-Boltzmann、Nernst-Planck、Navier-Stokes方程,建立了“广义力”驱动“广义流”的耦合关系。模型从黏土代表性单元体入手,计算确定各项耦合系数,用以定量考察离子迁移、流体运动的耦合性状。计算表明：采用Debye-Huckel近似计算黏土双电层电位将引起显著的误差;诱导电位产生的原因在于维持体系的电中性,其梯度大小正比于正负离子间因水头迁移性的差异而产生的潜在分离程度;诱导电位作用于离子迁移的方式在于阻滞正离子迁移,助推负离子迁移,而作用于流体运动的方式在于引起反向电渗,进而削弱水头驱动下的正向渗流;高表面带电密度的黏土矿物（如蒙脱土）处于低孔隙率的状态时,诱导电位对于渗流的削弱程度有可能异常显著。因此,建议相应的水头渗透系数的测定需要充分考虑诱导电位的影响,否则将导致较为显著的误差。     

Adsorption of heavy metals in glacial till soil

The charged sites on soil particles are important for the retention/adsorption of metals. Metallic counterions can neutralize the intrinsic charges on the surfaces of soil particles by forming complexes. In this study, efforts have been made to determine the effect of surface potential, pH, and ionic strength on the adsorption of four metal ions, hexavalent chromium Cr(VI), trivalent chromium Cr(III), nickel Ni(II) and cadmium Cd(II), in glacial till soil. Batch tests were performed to determine the effect of pH (2–12) and ionic strength (0.001–0.1 M KCl) on zeta potential of the glacial till soil. The point of zero charge (pH _PZC ) of glacial till was found to be 7.0±2.5. Surface charge experiments revealed the high buffering capacity of the glacial till. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted at natural pH (8.2) using various concentrations of selected metals. The adsorption data was described by the Freundlich adsorption model. Overall glacial till shows lower adsorption affinity to Cr(VI) as compared to cationic metals, Cr(III), Ni(II) and Cd(II).