Chemical extraction (soil washing) of Arsenic contaminated soils
Supervisor:
Dr Gary Owens, Future Fellow – Mawson Institute, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia
Phone: +61 8 8302 5043. Email: gary.owens@unisa.edu.au
Area: Environmental Science (Remediation)
Suitable for: PhD and Masters
Abstract:
The occurrence of arsenic in the environment poses significant risk to both human and
ecosystem health. While a number of remediation technologies have been developed for
arsenic-contaminated soil (e.g. containment, solidification/stabilisation and separation/
concentration), these methods may not be applicable for Korean conditions and may not be
economically viable in many situations. In addition the concept of bioavailability reduction in
some countries such as Korea is not generally accepted and the emphasis is on removal of
contaminant from a site. Soil washing of chemical extraction of a soil is one remediation
alternative. Chemical extraction involves introduction of a leachant, typically a strong acid such
as HCl, into a soil washing process to remove residual metal contaminates from the soil. A
number of synthetic chelates such as EDTA have also been suggested as metal extractants. The
problem with EDTA is that it is not degradable and toxic. For this reason lower molecular
weight chelates are favoured as they degrade more quickly. In this project we will examine the
potential for phosphate and/or citric acid to be used as leachants in the chemical extraction of
As from a As contaminated soil. A small number of Korean soils are available for preliminary
testing.
Related references:
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Preeti Tripathi, Sanjay Dwivedi, Aradhana Mishra, Amit Kumar, Richa Dave, Sudhakar Srivastava, Mridul
Kumar Shukla, Pankaj Kumar Srivastava, Debasis Chakrabarty, Prabodh Kumar Trivedi, Rudra Deo Tripathi
(2012) Arsenic accumulation in native plants of West Bengal, India: prospects for phytoremediation but
concerns with the use of medicinal plants, Environ Monit Assess, 184, 2617–2631.
P. Dzomba, T. Chayamiti and E. Togarepi (2012) Heavy Metal Content of Selected Raw Medicinal Plant
Materials: Implication for Patient Health, Bulletin of Environment, Pharmacology and Life Sciences, 1(10),
28-33.
Mohammad Rahimi, Reza Farhadi and Mojib Salehi balashahri (2012) Effects of heavy metals on the
medicinal plant, International Journal of Agronomy and Plant Production, 3(4), 154-158.
About Adelaide:
Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and offers a very high standard of living (top 6 in the
world according to “The Economist”), with great climate, food, wine, beautiful unspoiled
nature and beach environments, in an inexpensive setting.
The Mawson Institute (MI) has recently been established at the University of South Australia,
with strong support from the South Australian Government to research new manufacturing
technologies. Manufacturing is an important and substantial part of South Australia’s
economic base. The MI promotes a strategy based upon strong basic and applied research
that encourages scientific and technological innovation within the manufacturing sector.
Fundamental to this is the Institute’s multidisciplinary approach, building research teams in
concentrations that encompass a diverse range of disciplines, and collaboration with partners
from both academia and industry.
The institute is based in two new state-of-the-art buildings with outstanding research facilities
(see photo of the MM building).
For more information on this project please contact the supervisor.