A new approach to soil remediation: coupling nanotechnology with electrically induced particle transport (Electrokinetics)

Traditional remediation technologies for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) have serious limitations and high costs. Zero valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) represent a new generation of environmental remediation technologies that could provide cost-effective solutions. However, the limited transport of nZVI through soils has been identified to be a major drawback for in situ applications. The main research objective of this study is to find out if coupling electrokinetics and reactive iron nanoparticles can be an effective method for treating PCBs contaminated soils, through electrically induced nanoparticle transport. To understand the fundamental aspects of the coupled technology the authors suggest dividing the overall problem into three submodels (transport of nanoparticles by electroosmosis and by electrophoresis and degradation of PCB) which are then integrated into a macroscale transport/degradation numerical model. This paper presents the experimental approach suggested for each submodel under study. Testing this innovative solution using the suggested approach will allow for a deeper understanding of both the electrokinetically enhanced transport of nZVI and PCBs dechlorination.This work has been funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors (OPCF), by National funds through ―FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia‖ under project «PTDC/AGR AAM/10643/2008 NanoDC» and by FP7-PEOPLEIRSES-2010-269289-ELECTROACROSS.