Electrokinetic Treatment Of Mercury-Polluted Soil Facilitated By Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid Coupled With A Reactor With A Permeable Reactive Barrier Of Iron To Recover Mercury (II) From Water

•76.3 % of mercury was removed from cathode to anode after 72 h of EKT.•The major concentration of [Hg-EDTA]2− complex was moved towards the anode.•Only pH and electrical conductivity of soil changed after EKT.•The remaining solution obtained from the EKT was treated in a reactor with a PRB.•84.5 % of Hg2+ was recovered from water by permeable reactive barrier of Fe°.

A soil sample polluted with mercury was treated with electrokinetic treatment (EKT). Seventy-two h was necessary to remove most of the mercury present in soil from the cathode to the anode with a removal percentage of 76.30%. During this period, we measured the interfacial potential and current. We analyzed the physicochemical properties before and after EKT where physical properties such as color, soil particle, real density, porosity and fraction of organic matter did not change; chemical properties such as pH and electric conductivity changed due to the electric field applied to the soil and the addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as a facilitating agent. Finally, the remaining solution obtained from the EKT was treated in a reactor with a permeable reactive barrier of Fe°, where 84.47% of the Hg2+ was recovered from water.

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