Sonic and ultrasonic removal of chemical contaminants from soil in the laboratory and on a large scale

Power ultrasound can be used for the rehabilitation of industrial sites or the reclamation of polluted land by the removal of chemical and biological contamination from soil. In this paper some current laboratory research and the potential for the scale-up of chemical decontamination is reviewed. Two basic mechanisms for acoustically enhanced soil cleaning have been suggested (a) an increase in the abrasion of suspended soil in slurries leading to the removal of contaminated material from the surface of particles and (b) an improvement in leaching out of more deeply entrenched materials. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.