Influence of soil washing with a chelator on subsequent chemical immobilization of heavy metals in a contaminated soil

To assess the influence of soil washing with a chelator on the chemical immobilization of heavy metals, batch experiments were performed on the fine fraction of a contaminated soil under various operating conditions. Results show that pre-washing with EDTA facilitated the chemical immobilization of Cu and Cr, while an opposite effect for Pb and Zn was observed, in particular when Ca(OH)2 was added as the immobilizing agent. Metal fraction analyses of the soils indicate that soil washing can reduce the metal mobility by removing the labile fractions, while it may also destabilize some strongly bound fractions, reversely increasing the mobility and thus compromising the subsequent immobilization performance to some extents. To secure an effective combination of soil washing and chemical immobilization for the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated sites, a comprehensive study on metal fraction distribution in the soil is needed.