Electrokinetic Remediation of Copper- and Zinc-Contaminated Soil Using Carbon Nanotube

Contamination of soil and groundwater is turning out to be a serious global environmental problem. Due to their poisonous and non-biodegradable character, various contaminants such heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides, and other persistent organic pollutants are complicated in nature. As a result, there is an urgent need to develop remediation solutions that are both affordable and long-lasting. One of the most effective methods for removing metal ions from contaminated soil is electrokinetic remediation (Gomes et al. in Centre Environ Sustain Res 6545–6535, [1] ). It is an effective and innovative technique for remediating a variety of soil types, particularly low permeability fine grain soils like silty and clayey soils. In this technique, a contaminated soil is subjected to a direct-current electric field, which causes multiple kinds of transport events, including electroosmosis, electromigration, and electrophoresis. The current experimental investigation aims to analyze the effectiveness in copper and zinc removal from contaminated soil by electrokinetic remediation utilizing CNT. Clayey soil was tested in a lab environment using a direct-current (DC) electric field. The electrokinetic remediation was improved with the introduction of CNT. From 28.5% to 94.6% more copper and from 20.0% to 92.5% more zinc was removed respectively. The rise in removal effectiveness suggests that CNT can be used to treat copper- and zinc-contaminated soils electrokinetically.