Remediation of the Contaminated Soil around Railroad Turnout by EK-Fenton Process

초록

In the railroad, the leakage of lubricant oils from rolling stocks and maintenance of facilities like turnout occur frequently. Therefore the contamination of railroad soil is one of major environmental issues. However, the remediation of railroad site contaminated is difficult due to its limited accessibility and the researches on removal of lubricant oils and heavy metals from railroad soil have been rarely conducted. In this study, the feasibility of electrokinetic (EK)-Fenton process on the removal of lubricant oil was investigated. The soils were collected from railroad around turnout. A rectangular EK reactor (6*6*24 cm3) was used, which consists of a 10 cm-long soil compartment and two electrode chambers (80 ml) placed at each end, and DSA® electrode was used for both anode and cathode. The effect of electrolyte on electro-osmotic flow (EOF) and removal efficiency was observed with HNO3, NaCl and MgSO4. A DC electric current was applied under 0.5, 1 and 2 V/cm and the removal efficiency against energy consumption was compared. For the Fenton reaction, 3.5, 5 and 10 % H2O2 were used. As a result, it was confirmed that EK-Fenton process could be an alternative for in-situ remediation of the contaminated site around railroad turnout.