Electrokinetic Phenomena in Remediation of Construction Materials from Heavy Metals Contamination

The development of an electroosmotic flux, with the corresponding dragging due to water transport, is a crucial mechanism to succeed in the treatments of electrokinetic decontamination of construction materials. Therefore, it is of great interest trying to optimize the treatment by the addition of specific electrolytes enhancing the electrokinetic phenomena. Most of the data of zeta potential found in literature for construction materials are based in micro-electrophoresis measurements, which are quite far of the real conditions of application of the remediation treatments. In this paper, electrophoretic and electroosmotic experiments, with monolithic and powdered material respectively, have been carried out for mortar and brick clean and contaminated with Cs, Sr, Co, Cd, Cu and Pb. The electrolytes tested have been distilled water, Na2-EDTA, oxalic acid, acetic acid and citric acid.