Electrokinetic retention, migration and remediation of nitrates in silty loam soil under hydraulic gradients

Contamination of groundwater by nitrates leaching from intensive agricultural and livestock operations have become a major concern for surrounding communities that use groundwater as their water supply. High levels of nitrate in drinking water poses a significant risk to human health, i.e., methaemoglobinaemia ("blue baby" syndrome). The traditional pump-and-treat method is ineffective in medium to fine-textured agricultural soils due to the low hydraulic conductivity. This paper presents the results of a laboratory experiment investigating the feasibility of using electrokinetic treatment in retaining, accumulating, moving and remediating nitrates in a silty loam soil under hydraulic gradients. A hydraulic gradient of 1.25 was applied to the horizontal soil columns to simulate a groundwater movement system. The study was performed in two stages. During the first stage of the experiment, the anode located at the inflow end of the columns was able to retard the movement of nitrates even under a hydraulic gradient of 1.25. After 15 days of flow, the effluent nitrate concentration in the control column rose to 90 mg l(-1) while no nitrates were detected in the effluent from columns subjected to the electrokinetic treatment. After 15 days, the polarity of the electrodes was switched and this second stage lasted another 20 days. The cathode near the inflow end promoted the conversion of nitrates entering the column to other forms. The anode near the outflow end promoted the migration and accumulation of negatively charged nitrate ions towards the outflow end. By the 12th day, the nitrate concentrations in the electrokinetically treated columns were brought down to < 5 mg NO(3)-N l(-1). Electrokinetic treatment retarded nitrate movement against a hydraulic gradient of 1.25 and effectively restored a medium-textured soil contaminated with NO(3)-N. The NO(2)-N level remained below I mg l(-1) throughout the experiment. The hydraulic conductivity varied between 1.0E-7 and 3.6E-7 in s(-1). The current requirement varied between 3 and 6 mA. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.