TRANSPORT OF NITRATES THROUGH CLAY USING ELECTROKINETICS

In this paper, the results of laboratory experiments to investigate th e feasibility of using electrokinetics to transport nitrates (a nutrie nt) through a low-permeability soil are presented. Tests were conducte d using a kaolinite soil consolidated from a slurry under a vertical s tress of 127 kPa. Sodium nitrate was introduced in a chamber in front of a graphite electrode that becomes the cathode in the electrokinetic process. A hydraulic head was used to reduce the osmotic pressures. T he results of the tests reveal that, under laboratory conditions, nitr ates can be transported through low-permeability soils using electroki netics.