Removal of Heavy Metal from Contaminated Soil with Chelating Agents

Removal of copper and nickel by the addition of the biodegradable chelating agent, chitosan and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), was investigated, alongside the reaction of a reference compound sodium citrate for comparison. The artificial-contaminated soils were used in this study. The experiments showed that the extraction ability for copper and nickel from the contaminated soil decreased as follows: chitosan > EDTA > sodium citrate. The pH value of the eluents is the key to control the extraction, especially to chitosan solution. It was evident that the chitosan solution was the most efficient when the pH value was 3 3.5, the rate of extraction of copper being 43.36% and of nickel being 37.07%. And the best match of concentration and liquid/solid was 0.3 g/L and 10 mL/g.