Modified pineapple peel extract coupled with electrokinetic techniques for remediation of chromium-contaminated soil

Remediation of chromium (Cr)-contaminated soil is a hot topic in environmental science and technology . In this field, one important issue is to develop a low-cost and effective electrolyte. This work investigated efficient remediation of Cr-contaminated soils by electrokinetic using pineapple-peel extract (PPE) as electrolyte. The main components of PPE were sugar and citric acid . The effects of these two components were investigated on remediation efficiency. The changes of soil properties, including pH, conductivity, electroosmotic flow , and Cr residue, were detailedly analyzed during electrokinetic remediation. After modification by H 2 O 2 , total sugar and organic acid contents in PPE changed from 64.5% and 0.115–42.5% and 0.304%, respectively. These changes further improved the Cr remediation. The highest average removal was 82.75% when 30% of H 2 O 2 was used to modify PPE electrolyte. The main result of this work is in favor of developing and applying green electrolyte in electrokinetic technology. At the same time, pineapple residual is effectively recycled, which is devoted to green development.