Chelating Agents for Land Decontamination Technologies

Sponsored by the Hazardous Waste Committee of the Environmental Council of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of ASCE Chelating Agents for Land Decontamination Technologies examines the application of chelating agents for the treatment of soil contaminated with metals. Contaminated land remediation is a widespread and costly problem, and the traditional excavation-and-disposal treatment method is not a sustainable solution. Chelating agents (organic compounds that can bind metal ions) are an attractive new technology for land decontamination, because chelating agents enhance metal extraction from contaminated soil or sediment and facilitate metal mobility in subsurface soils. Chapters in this book cover the process fundamentals as well as engineering applications and recent advances for the use of chelating agents in soil washing, soil flushing, phytoremediation, and electrokinetic remediation. They address the application of chelating agents for both ex situ and in situ soil remediation technologies. The extensive use of illustrations and summary tables is combined with up-to-date references. This compilation of engineering applications and research findings for different chelating agent-enhanced remediation technologies will be useful to environmental engineers, scientists, and decision makers regarding contaminated land remediation.