The Use of Electrokinetics for Hazardous Waste Site Remediation

The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) program was authorized as part of the 1986 amendments to the Superfund legislation. It represents a joint effort between U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development and Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. The program is designed to assist and encourage the development of waste treatment technologies that would contribute to more solutions to our hazardous waste problems.

Recently, EPA, through the SITE program, issued a work assignment to assess the “stateof- the-art” of electroklnetically enhanced contaminant removal from soils. Prior research efforts, both laboratory and field, have demonstrated that electroosmosis has the potential to be effective In facilitating the removal of certain types of hazardous wastes from soils. Particularly encouraging results have been achieved with inorganics in fine-grained soils where more traditional removal alternatives are less effective.

Although the results of various studies suggest that electrokinetics is a promising technology, further testing Is needed at both the laboratory and field levels to fully develop this technology for site remediation. A conceptual test program Is presented based on best available data which incorporates system design and operating parameters used in previous applications of this technology In the use of electrokinetics treatment as a remediation technique at hazardous waste sites.