Remediation of Lead-Contaminated Soil, Using Clean Energy in Combination with Electro-Kinetic Methods

The present study aims at investigating the feasibility of using solar energy as a power source to run electro-kinetic remediation in order to clean-up lead from three types of Iraqi soil. In order to do so, it carries out six tests with enhancement conditions, involving pH control and injection wells. Conducted in the city of Baghdad, Iraq, the experiment, is divided into two groups so that the effect of applying continuous and constant voltage from solar panels study, by means of charge control and battery along with non-continuous and non-constant DC voltage from solar panel could be studied. The DC voltage has been generated by two Solar panels, each with a maximum voltage of 17 volts. All experiments have commenced in March 2017, wherein the soil has been contaminated with a concentration of Pb, equal to 1500 mg/kg as well as initial moisture content equal to 30%. The remediation lasts for seven days, with a potential gradient of about 1.2 V/cm. At the end, the experimental results show that the overall removal efficiencies of 90.7%, 63.3%, and 42.8% have been achieved for sandy, sandy loam, and silty loam soils, respectively, when using solar panels with charge control and battery.