Treatment technologies used for the removal of As, Cr, Cu, PCP and/or PCDD/F from contaminated soil: A review

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2017-07, Vol.333, p.194-214
• Main Authors: Guemiza, Karima, Coudert, Lucie, Metahni, Sabrine, Mercier, Guy, Besner, Simon, Blais, Jean-François
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arsenic; Arsenic - isolation & purification; Chromium; Chromium - isolation & purification; Copper; Copper - isolation & purification; Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated - isolation & purification; Environmental Restoration and Remediation - methods; PCDDF; PCP; Pentachlorophenol - isolation & purification; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins - isolation & purification; Soil; Soil Pollutants - isolation & purification
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.03.021

•Processes developed to remove metals, PCP and PCDD/F from soils were presented.•Incineration and thermal processes are efficient to remove organic contaminants.•Soil washing seemed to be a promising option to treat soils contaminated by metals.•Attrition is commonly used for the rehabilitation of contaminated soils. The contamination of soils by metals such as arsenic, chromium, copper and organic compounds such as pentachlorophenol (PCP) and dioxins and furans (PCDD/F) is a major problem in industrialized countries. Excavation followed by disposal in an appropriate landfilling is usually used site to manage these contaminated soils. Many researches have been conducted to develop physical, biological, thermal and chemical methods to allow the rehabilitation of contaminated sites. Thermal treatments including thermal desorption seemed to be the most appropriate methods, allowing the removal of more than 99.99% of organic contaminants but, they are ineffective for inorganic compounds. Biological treatments have been developed to remove inorganic and hydrophobic organic contaminants but their applications are limited to soils contaminated by easily biodegradable organic compounds. Among the physical technologies available, attrition is the most commonly used technique for the rehabilitation of soils contaminated by both organic and inorganic contaminants. Chemical processes using acids, bases, redox agents and surfactants seemed to be an interesting option to simultaneously extract organic and inorganic contaminants from soils. This paper will provide an overview of the recent developments in the field of decontamination technologies applicable for the removal of As, Cr, Cu, PCP and/or PCDD/F from contaminated soils.