Chemical-induced washing remediation of metal-contaminated soils

Abstract

The immobilization or removal of toxic components using aqueous extractants, with or without additives, is one of the commonly practiced techniques for the treatment of metal-contaminated soils. However, rather than the use of water alone, the solution with chemical-additives is preferred due to the less time requirement and better separation effectiveness. There is a long-favored list of additives that have been used for the chemical-induced washing remediation of soils, which include acids, bases, chelants, surfactants, and so forth. The objective of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of the chemical-assisted soil washing approaches.