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Moisture content-affected electrokinetic remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated clay by a hydrocalumite barrier

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Abstract

An electrokinetic–permeable reaction barrier (EK-PRB) system was introduced in this study with hydrocalumite as the barrier material. The combined system effectively remediated the Cr(VI)-contaminated clay after a 72-h treatment, and the Cr(VI) removal efficiency increased with the initial soil moisture content. Further evidence was found that the changing soil pH value and current density were highly associated with the initial moisture content, showing its important roles in the Cr(VI) removal process. Additionally, the total Cr removal efficiency was much lower than that of Cr(VI) owing to the partial conversion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) in the electrokinetic remediation process. Under high soil moisture conditions (40 %), the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) and total Cr was 96.6 and 67.3 %, respectively. Further analysis also revealed the new mineral phase, chromate hydrocalumite, for Cr fixation in the hydrocalumite barrier, which was significantly affected by the initial soil moisture content. Our results showed that the EK-PRB system with a hydrocalumite barrier is highly promising with great potential for the effective remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated clay and engineering implementation.

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Acknowledgments

This project is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21107067) and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT13078).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, No.99 Shangda Rd, Shanghai, 200444, People’s Republic of China

    Yunfeng Xu, Xiangjian Xu, Hetian Hou, Jia Zhang & Guangren Qian

  2. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YW, UK

    Dayi Zhang

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  1. Yunfeng Xu
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  2. Xiangjian Xu
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  3. Hetian Hou
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  4. Jia Zhang
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  5. Dayi Zhang
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  6. Guangren Qian
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Correspondence to Guangren Qian.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Xu, Y., Xu, X., Hou, H. et al. Moisture content-affected electrokinetic remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated clay by a hydrocalumite barrier. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 6517–6523 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5685-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5685-y

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