A Standard Method for Characterizing Contaminated Soil and Sediment for Processing with Particle Separation Techniques

Characterization of materials like soils and sediments to be processed by wet particle separation techniques (PST) is of primary importance to understand and improve the performance of these techniques. An evaluation of existing characterization methods showed that in the Netherlands there is a need for a standardized characterization method directed at both the contaminated material and the contamination itself, and on the basis of which sufficient information can be obtained for application of PST in practice. Four soil and sediment samples were selected for experimental characterization research. On the basis of this research and the experience from earlier investigations and remediation projects, a characterization method was developed and successfully applied on the four samples.