THEORETICAL EVALUATION OF A TECHNIQUE FOR ELECTROKINETIC DECONTAMINATION OF SOILS

An electrokinetic decontamination process has been modeled to investig ate the feasibility of using electrokinetic soil remediation technolog y to remove Cs-137 and Sr-90 from the soil. 100 V DC current is applie d to a 3-meter-long soil column by electrodes connected to the soil. T he prediction results have shown that the efficiency of the electrokin etic treatment depends on the sorption and diffusion parameters. High sorption and slow diffusion will demand long treatment time. If the so il to be treated has similar sorption and diffusion properties as bent onite, and when the soil is flushed with saline water that leads to le ss sorption, both Cs-137 and Sr-90 may be cleaned by the electrokineti c process within a few months. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.