Evaluation of Electrokinetic Removal of Heavy Metals from Tailing Soils

Electrokinetic remediation was studied for the removal of toxic heavy metals from tailing soils. This study emphasized the dependency of removal efficiency upon heavy metal speciation, as demonstrated by different extraction methods (sequential extraction, total digestion, and 0.1 N HC1 extraction). The tailing soils examined showed different physicochemical characteristics, in view of initial pH, particle size distribution, and major mineral constituents, and contained high concentrations of target metal contaminants in various forms. The electrokinetic removal efficiency of heavy metals was significantly influenced by their partitioning prior to treatment, and by the pHs of the tailing soils. The mobile and weakly bound fractions of heavy metals, such as exchangeable fraction, were easily removed by electrokinetic treatment (more than 90% in removal efficiency), whereas immobile and strongly bound fractions, such as organically bound and residual fractions, were not effectively removed (less than 20% in removal efficiency).