Electrokinetic Remediation for Environmental Security and Sustainability

19Electrokinetic Remediation for the Removal of Organic Waste in Soil and Sediments

S.M.P.A Koliyabandara¹, Chamika Siriwardhana¹, Sakuni M. De Silva², Janitha Walpita², and Asitha T. Cooray^{1, 2}

¹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda 10250, Sri Lanka

² Instrument Centre, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda 10250, Sri Lanka

19.1 Introduction

Soil is a complex mixture of minerals, organic material, dead and living micro‐ and macro‐organisms, air, and water. It forms at the earth’s surface under the influence of climate, topography, organisms, parent material, and time. Soil formation is a slow process that takes up to thousands of years to create an inch of topsoil. Soil is a limited natural resource, and it is the primary provider and storage place of nutrients and water for all the ecosystems on earth. It is considered as a renewable resource; however, as mentioned, soil formation – particularly in dry and cold environments – occurs very slowly. Sediment, on the other hand, is a naturally occurring material that is transported by the action of wind (aeolian processes), water (fluvial processes), or ice (glacial deposits). For example, sand dunes in deserts and beaches are a result of aeolian and fluvial processes, respectively.

Soil contamination has been referred to as “invisible contamination” because it is not as easily observable as water and atmospheric ...