Effect of polarity reversal on the enhanced electrokinetic remediation of 2,4-D-polluted soils: A numerical study

This article presents a numerical study of the transport phenomena involved in the electrokinetic remediation of soils polluted with polar pesticides. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid is used as a representative of this pesticide type. A one-dimensional configuration with two facing electrodes placed in electrolyte compartments and a cathodic overflow pollutant extraction system has been used for that purpose. The conventional electrokinetic remediation process is evaluated by keeping the electrode polarity constant, and to obtain acceptable yields, it is necessary to extend the treatment for more than 250 days. The application of periodic polarity reversals is proposed to improve these results. This strategy maximises the pesticide concentration in the cathodic compartment, thus maximising the pollutant extraction rate. The results show that by applying polarity reversals over 6-h periods, it is possible to accelerate the treatment, thus improving its overall efficiency up to 94.5% compared with the treatment using a constant electrode polarity. •Numerical model for electrokinetic remediation of polluted soil with 2,4-D is shown.•Periodic polarity reversal processes has been included in the module M4EKR.•Improvements of the application of polarity reversal strategy has been studied.•Periodic polarity reversal at 6 h enhances the yield of EKR a 94.5%.