A new method for remedial treatment of contaminated clayey soils by electrokinetics coupled with permeable reactive barriers

This paper presents the results of preliminary investigations into the potential application of a remediation system that couples the electrokinetic (EK) remediation with the permeable reactive barrier (PRB) concept. Atomizing slag was adopted as a PRB reactive material for freshing groundwater contaminated with either inorganic or organic substances. Laboratory experiments were performed with variable conditions including (i) type of pollutant, (ii) processing time, and (iii) the application of PRB system during the EK processing. From the results of the preliminary investigations, the coupled technology of EK with PRB system could effectively remediate contaminated groundwater in situ without extracting pollutants from subsurface through the effectiveness of the reactions between the reactive materials and contaminants.