EFFECTIVE WASHING AGENT FOR THE REMOVAL OF LEAD AND COPPER FROM MULTI-METAL CONTAMINATED SOILS IN MINING AREAS
EFFECTIVE WASHING AGENT FOR THE REMOVAL OF LEAD AND COPPER FROM MULTI-METAL CONTAMINATED SOILS IN MINING AREAS

Summary/Abstract: Removal of heavy metals from soil by washing with different eco-friendly washing agents is one of the methods that has gained great interest in scientific research. As previous studies reported the potential of chitosan to be used as an eco-friendly washing agent for the removal of heavy metals from soils, in the present study, the removal of lead and copper from multi-metal contaminated soil collected from a mining area located in Zlatna (Alba County, Romania) by chitosan washing was investigated. Soil washing experiments were performed at laboratory scale by an ex-situ soil washing technique. A solid/liquid ratio (S/L ratio; g:mL) of 1:10, two concentrations of chitosan washing solution (2 and 5%) and different stirring times (120, 240, 360, 720, 1440 and 2400 min) were the studied parameters of the washing process. The results indicated that copper and lead removal efficiency increased with increasing the stirring time and the concentration of chitosan in the washing solution (in the case of Cu). In the investigated experimental conditions, about 55 % and 77% of copper and lead were removed from the soil after 2400 min of stirring with the chitosan washing solution.

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