Effect of Electrode Materials on electro kinetic remediation of Uranium Contaminated Soil

Abstract

In this study, three different electrode materials (graphite, stainless steel, and titanium rods) were used to explore the electro kinetic (EK) remediation of soil contaminated with uranium (U). All EK experiments were carried out in a soil cell reactor with a moisture content of 25.1% and a total uranium mixture of 90.6 mg/kg at a constant voltage gradient (1V/cm) for 5 days. The experimental results show that the EK repair process with graphite rod as the electrode material has the highest current peak, and the overall current level is higher than the other two electrode materials. Compared with stainless steel and titanium rods, the removal efficiency of using graphite as the electrode material U in contaminated soil reached 34.11%. However, the removal rates using stainless steel and titanium rods were lower, 15.79% and 18.77%, respectively. In the EK experiment, the main removal is from the exchangeable part of U to the carbon-bound U composition, while the remaining forms of uranium are difficult to remove under this condition, so in order to be more efficient, the uranium in the soil is removed with maximum reduction. It is necessary to use it in conjunction with other enhancement technologies.