Electrochemical Remediation of Dredged Material for Beneficial Use

Two different methods, electrodialytic and electroosmotic remediation, were used to demonstrate the potential of electrochemical methods for remediation of contaminated harbor sediments. In two three-week-long laboratory experiments using electrodialysis and electroosmosis, respectively, it was shown that six selected metals as well as Cl- all could be mobilized in the electric field and removed from the sediment.

Separate experiments were conducted to investigate the extent to which sediments could be dewatered efficiently using electrokinetics. Results again demonstrated that significant electroosmotic flow occured (0.01 mL/cm2-hr) and that sediments were effectively dewatered. These experimental results suggest electrochemical techniques should be evaluated for full-scale treatment of dredged material for upland beneficial use and may also be applicable for treatment of material placed in confined aquatic disposal (CAD) cells.