Contamination of soil and groundwater by heavy metal ions, such as cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, chromium, and arsenic, is a widespread problem and of a global scale. Heavy metals have entered the environment in the past from industry through the direct disposal onto soil or through discharges into water. Facilities from electronics and metal-plating operations, photographic processing, and mining were and are today the principal sources.
Heavy metals pose a significant hazard to the environment and human health.
The overall objective of this work is to develop a treatment process for removing heavy metal ions from groundwater using novel electrode materials for electroplating. Groundwater follows a toroidal flow path, flushes adsorbed and dissolved contaminants from the aquifer, and reenters the intake, as illustrated in Figure 1. Obtain treatability data for three heavy metal ions, copper, cadmium, and mercury. Evaluate the impact on electrode performance of common waste constituents such as iron, anions such as chlorides and carbonates, and surfactants and chelants. Use the results to understand future field results and to expand the application of this method to in situ soil flushing and mine wastes.