Ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is one of the chelating agents used
in the soil washing process for the decontamination of lead-contaminated s
oil. Lead-EDTA complexes in the wastewater from the soil washing process mu
st be removed before the wastewater can be safely discharged. This study ou
tlines a method to recycle Pb-EDTA wastewater by substituting the Pb comple
xed with EDTA with Fe(III) ions at low pH, followed by precipitation of Pb
ions with phosphate or sulfate ions. Fe(III) ions complexed with EDTA were
then precipitated at high pH using sodium hydroxide. The resulting solution
(Fe-precipitated solution) was tested on three lead-contaminated soils. Th
e Fe-precipitated EDTA solution was found to have similar extraction capabi
lities as fresh EDTA solution. Experimental results showed that the recycle
d EDTA solution may be recycled several times without losing its extractive
power. Recycled EDTA wastewater with phosphate precipitation was found to
be slightly more effective than recycled EDTA solution using sulfate precip
itation. The recycling procedure may be applied to wastewater generated dur
ing soil washing of lead-contaminated soil, resulting in a reduction in was
tewater generated and savings in the amount of EDTA used. (C) 1999 Elsevier
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