Feasibility Study of the Electrokinetic Remediation of a Mercury-Polluted Soil

This chapter is focused on the study of electroremediation of heavy metals from a real soil. Specifically, the case of the study was a soil from Almaden mining district, with a very high mercury concentration. The risk assessment of heavy metals depends on the mobility and bioavailability and not only on the total concentration. Therefore, this study evaluates the distribution of mercury into different fractions before and after the electrokinetic treatment. The electrokinetic experiments were performed in two operating scales that differ in more than two orders of magnitude. The results for both scales are consistent with the predictions of simple models, so it can be assumed that they are useful for the evaluation of a full-scale implementation. Two enhancing agents were studied in the application of electrokinetic process according to the mercury distribution in BCR fractions (Community Bureau of Reference). First, iodide was applied as complexing agent, and it was found that after treatment the most mobile fraction of mercury increased. Thus, to remove this mobile mercury fraction, electroremediation experiments were done with nitric acid as enhancing agent

Cobalt impregnated pillared montmorillonite in the peroxymonosulfate induced catalytic oxidation of tartrazine

Aluminum pillared montmorillonite impregnated with cobalt (CoAP) was synthe-sized and characterized using chemical analysis, XRD and N-2-physisorption. CoAP was tested as a catalyst in the peroxymonosulfate (Oxone (R)) induced catalytic degradation of tartrazine. The influence of Oxone (R)/catalyst ratio and temperature on CoAP catalytic performance was investigated. The UV-Vis spectra obtained after predetermined periods of time of reaction were analyzed in order for tartrazine solution composition to be monitored. The reaction was more efficient at 50 degrees C than at 30 degrees C and the presence of new peaks for the reaction at 50 degrees C was observed. The peaks were deconvoluted and further analyzed. The intensity of two characteristic peaks gradually decreased during the investigated reaction following the first order kinetics. Newly formed peaks indicated the formation of degradation products. The initial increase of the intensity of some of them was followed by certain decrease as the reaction proceeded. CoAP was found to be efficient catalyst in Oxone (R) induced catalytic decolorization of tartrazine. The degradation of different products formed in tartrazine oxidation was evidenced