Remediation of soil contaminated with organic and inorganic wood impregnation chemicals by soil washing

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) Vol. 184; pp. 13 - 19
• Main Authors: Kumpiene, Jurate, Nordmark, Désirée, Carabante, Ivan, Sužiedelytė-Visockienė, Jūratė, Aksamitauskas, Vladislovas Česlovas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2017
• Subjects: Arsenic; Arsenic - analysis; Avfallsteknik; Chromium; Chromium - analysis; Contaminated soil; Copper; Copper - analysis; Environmental Restoration and Remediation - methods; Leaching; PAH; Particle Size; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis; Soil - chemistry; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Sweden; Waste Management - methods; Waste Science and Technology; Wood - chemistry; Chromium; Contaminated soil; Arsenic; Copper; Leaching; PAH
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.05.140

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of a large scale washing/wet sieving technique for a soil contaminated with wood impregnation chemicals by 1) defining the final distribution of trace elements (As, Cu, Cr, Zn) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in separated soil particle size fractions; and 2) defining the leaching behavior of the contaminants in these soil fractions. A soil washing experiment was implemented at waste management facility in Sweden using a full scale soil sorting and washing equipment. Five tons of soil was loaded to the equipment and wet-sieved into the following fractions: >16 mm, 8–16 mm, 2–8 mm, 0.2–2 mm, <0.2 mm and a fraction that floated on top of the slurry before the final separation phase, composed of organic matter (OM). Analysis of total concentrations of contaminants in all soil fractions indicated that wet sieving/soil washing was not efficient to reduce the total volume of soil that needs further treatment. Even the coarsest soil fractions (>8 mm) contained elevated concentrations of total As and PAH. Leaching of As from all washed soil fractions was so high, that none of the particle size fractions could be disposed of without additional treatment. •Wet sieving/soil washing was not efficient to reduce the total volume of soil that needs further treatment.•The coarsest soil fractions (>8 mm) contained elevated concentrations of total As and PAH.•Leaching of As from all washed soil fractions exceeded leaching limit values.