title: Comparative study of simultaneous removal of As, Cu, and Pb using different combinations of electrokinetics with bioleaching by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans.
abstract: Different designs of electrokinetics were applied to simultaneously remove arsenic, copper, and lead from contaminated soils. Single electrokinetics (control) resulted in superior removal efficiencies for Cu (73.5%) and Pb (88.5%), though the removal of As (3.11%) was relatively little. Sequential bioelectrokinetics of bioleaching with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and electrokinetics enhanced the removal of As (25%), while Pb exhibited a significant decrease in removal efficiency (10.6%), due to the formation of insoluble compounds. In order to improve the overall performance, integrated bioelectrokinetics was designed by inoculating A. ferrooxidans into the electrolyte after 5 or 15 days of electrokinetics. Lead (75.8%) and copper (72%) were effectively removed through electrokinetics, after which arsenic (35%) was more efficiently removed by bioleaching-enhanced electrokinetics. A pilot-scale experiment indicated that integrated bioelectrokinetics is an effective means of remediation of soils contaminated with multiple heavy metals and arsenic.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 1, Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Daejeon 305-353, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Keun-Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 1, Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Tae
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, College of Natural Science, Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju 660-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soon-Oh
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 1, Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kwkim@gist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Kyoung-Woong
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D013856:Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D003300:Copper / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D006046:Gold / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D007854:Lead / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007854:Lead; D006046:Gold; D003300:Copper