Effect of a surfactant on enhancing efficiency of the electrokinetic method in removing anthracene from a clay soil

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the removal of anthracene from a clay soil using a surfactant and investigates the effects of electric field on the anthracene removal efficiency. A non-ionic surfactant, Tween 80, was fed to the anode reservoir and the tests were conducted under voltage gradient of 1.5 V/cm and different times (3, 7 and 10 days). A reference test was also conducted with distilled water in anode and cathode reservoirs under the same voltage with duration of 7 days. During each test the pH, EC (electrical conductivity) and volume of outflow discharge were measured. At the end of each test, a number of soil samples were extracted from different distances of anode and removal of anthracene from them was measured by using HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) apparatus. The results show that by using Tween 80 the removal of anthracene is increased. Also, by increasing the duration of test until 7 days the removal is increased. However, after 7 days the rate of increase in the removal of anthracene is not considerable.