Electrokinetic (EK) and Bio-electrokinetic (BEK) Remediation of Hexavalent Chromium in Contaminated Soil Using Alkalophilic Bio-anolyte

The present investigation deals with remediation of chromium (Cr(VI)) by electrokinetic (EK) and bio-electrokinetic (BEK) processes. The experiments were conducted using spiked concentration of 1 g/kg of chromium in the soil. The results showed a maximum chromium removal of 40.12% and 90.4% by EK and BEK, respectively, at the end of 7 days. Chromium-resistant alkalophilic bacterial strain, Bacillus licheniformis SR3, was used as bio-anolyte counterpart in BEK. During the process, the variations in electrical gradient and pH were studied and compared between EK and BEK. Chromium removal was further confirmed by UV spectroscopy, FTIR and XRD studies. The results of FTIR showed notable difference in the intensities of the peak, thus confirming the effective remediation by BEK. The obtained results have found to support BEK integrated system as an effective remediation option for cleaning up chromium-contaminated soil environments.