In Situ Electrokinetic Removal of Salts from Greenhouse Soil Using Iron Electrode

Abstract

An electrokinetic (EK) field study was performed on a pilot scale (2.2 × 3.3 × 0.3 m³, W × L × D) in a greenhouse by using Fe electrodes and bentonite backfill. When a constant voltage gradient was applied, the current intensity was affected by electrode position, and the soil temperature increased with the current intensity. After the EK treatment, the soil pH was little changed and the cations were hardly removed because of the ion exchange in the bentonite. However, the anions were mostly removed by electromigration, resulting in the reduction of the soil electrical conductivity. The field study demonstrated that in situ EK process is feasible for the remediation of greenhouse soils. In addition, the improvement of EK system and the role of bentonite backfill were discussed.

Keywords:

• backfill
• bentonite
• electrical conductivity (EC)
• electrokinetic (EK) technology
• saline soil

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was supported a grant from the Korea government, Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

Notes

*The minus sign means a final content is over its initial value.