Enhanced Electrokinetic Remediation for the Removal of PFOA from Contaminated Kaolinite Soil

Ganbat, Namuun

Enhanced Electrokinetic Remediation for the Removal of PFOA from Contaminated Kaolinite Soil

Ganbat, Namuun

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2023

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Ganbat, Namuun
dc.date.accessioned	2024-03-25T03:58:03Z
dc.date.available	2024-03-25T03:58:03Z
dc.date.issued	2023
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/177086
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	PFOA belongs to the class of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, an emerged contamination with adverse impacts on human health and the ecosystem (Ko et al., 2000). There is mounting concern regarding water and soil pollution with PFOA. The unique physicochemical properties of PFOA enable it to infiltrate soil pores and contaminate groundwater. Conventional electrokinetic (EK) remediation, hinder the effectiveness in removing PFOA from the soil. This study examines the feasibility of different surfactants and permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) as enhancing agents to increase the removal efficiency of PFOA during EK process. The experiments evaluated using three surfactants: sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Tween 80, and sodium cholate (NaC). The findings reveal that the NaC-EK remediation achieved a removal efficiency of 75.58% after two weeks. The surfactant enhanced EK tests, demonstrated removal efficiencies as follows: NaC>SDS>TW80. Applying a standalone EK process for PFOA removal from soil has been hampered by the concurrent occurrence of electromigration and electroosmosis transportation mechanisms, leading to PFOA accumulation in the soil. A PRB has been proposed in response to this challenge as an effective strategy to capture and extract contaminants from the soil in the EK process. Activated carbon and iron loaded AC PRBs, in conjunction with the NaC biosurfactant, were evaluated for EK remediation. The results demonstrated that the EK process enhanced with a 5% w/w NaC, coupled with AC and FeAC PRBs, exhibited superior removal efficiency compared to EK tests without PRBs. Specifically, the AC-EK test achieved a removal efficiency of 52.35%, while the FeAC EK test demonstrated a slightly higher efficiency of 59.55%. Using waste materials as a sustainable option for PRBs has garnered interest as an alternative approach to traditional methods. Hence, iron slag, a by-product of the steel industry, was used as an adsorbent in the EK process to capture PFOA in soil. Due to its high iron oxide content, iron slag was selected as a potential PRB material. The study's findings reveal that incorporating NaC in the Slag PRB-EK process yielded greater PFOA removal efficiency of 94.09% after three weeks. Notably, the iron slag PRB captured more than 87% of the initial PFOA. These findings highlight the potential of using iron slag waste as a sustainable approach for PFOA treatment in the EK remediation process. These results can inform the development of more efficient and cost-effective EK-PRB systems for field-scale applications, helping to address the pressing issue of PFAS contaminated soils.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/177086/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2023 Namuun Ganbat
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	Enhanced Electrokinetic Remediation for the Removal of PFOA from Contaminated Kaolinite Soil	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

PFOA belongs to the class of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, an emerged contamination with adverse impacts on human health and the ecosystem (Ko et al., 2000). There is mounting concern regarding water and soil pollution with PFOA. The unique physicochemical properties of PFOA enable it to infiltrate soil pores and contaminate groundwater. Conventional electrokinetic (EK) remediation, hinder the effectiveness in removing PFOA from the soil. This study examines the feasibility of different surfactants and permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) as enhancing agents to increase the removal efficiency of PFOA during EK process. The experiments evaluated using three surfactants: sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Tween 80, and sodium cholate (NaC). The findings reveal that the NaC-EK remediation achieved a removal efficiency of 75.58% after two weeks. The surfactant enhanced EK tests, demonstrated removal efficiencies as follows: NaC>SDS>TW80. Applying a standalone EK process for PFOA removal from soil has been hampered by the concurrent occurrence of electromigration and electroosmosis transportation mechanisms, leading to PFOA accumulation in the soil. A PRB has been proposed in response to this challenge as an effective strategy to capture and extract contaminants from the soil in the EK process. Activated carbon and iron loaded AC PRBs, in conjunction with the NaC biosurfactant, were evaluated for EK remediation. The results demonstrated that the EK process enhanced with a 5% w/w NaC, coupled with AC and FeAC PRBs, exhibited superior removal efficiency compared to EK tests without PRBs. Specifically, the AC-EK test achieved a removal efficiency of 52.35%, while the FeAC EK test demonstrated a slightly higher efficiency of 59.55%. Using waste materials as a sustainable option for PRBs has garnered interest as an alternative approach to traditional methods. Hence, iron slag, a by-product of the steel industry, was used as an adsorbent in the EK process to capture PFOA in soil. Due to its high iron oxide content, iron slag was selected as a potential PRB material. The study's findings reveal that incorporating NaC in the Slag PRB-EK process yielded greater PFOA removal efficiency of 94.09% after three weeks. Notably, the iron slag PRB captured more than 87% of the initial PFOA. These findings highlight the potential of using iron slag waste as a sustainable approach for PFOA treatment in the EK remediation process. These results can inform the development of more efficient and cost-effective EK-PRB systems for field-scale applications, helping to address the pressing issue of PFAS contaminated soils.

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