Electrochimica Acta, Vol.208, 282-287, 2016
Assessment of IrO2-Ta2O5 vertical bar Ti electrodes for the electrokinetic treatment of hydrocarbon-contaminated soil using different electrode arrays
In recent years, physicochemical processes such as electrokinetic treatment (EKT) have gained acceptance as suitable alternatives to restore hydrocarbon (HC)-contaminated sites. EKT entails relatively short times and high removal efficiencies, usually being applied in heterogeneous soils with low permeability. In this work, 1D (one-dimensional) and 2D (two-dimensional) configurations have been tested employing Ti cathodes and anodes, as well as purpose-made IrO2-Ta2O5 vertical bar Ti as dimensionally-stable anodes (DSA (R)). After EKT and from GC-MS analysis of fat and oil content, it has been found that the radial 2D array with one central Ti cathode and six IrO2-Ta2O5 vertical bar Ti anodes performed the best removal efficiency of hydrocarbons. The removal efficiencies of using modified electrodes with a configuration of circular 2D electrodes had double the removal efficiency (58%) over the use of a configuration of face-to-face 1D array (21%) with the IrO2-Ta2O5 vertical bar Ti anode and Ti cathode. Finally, the superficial morphology of IrO2-Ta2O5 vertical bar Ti anode and Ti cathode were not affected by EKT, which was demonstrated with the same appearance before and after EKT in the micrographs obtained by SEM. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.