Electro-phytoremediation of polluted soil at pilot level using maize

This article presents the imposition of a direct current electric field in the presence of seeds and plants of Zea mays L., to rehabilitate soils contaminated with hydrocarbons at a pilot level, and its influence on some physical and chemical properties of the soil, such as pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter content in the soil, enzymatic activity, bulk density, apparent density, porosity, cation exchange capacity, and soluble cations such as potassium, sodium, and calcium. For this reason, the edaphological characterization was carried out before and after an electro-phytoremediation process of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons, using an IrO2-Ta2O5|Ti anode and a titanium cathode, applying a constant electric field of 0.2 V/cm for 4 h to maize seeds and stimulating their germination. After one week, an electric field of 0.1 V/cm for 8 h was applied to the maize seeds every day for 42 days to stimulate the growth of maize plants. This study demonstrated the removal of hydrocarbons by electro-phytoremediation. The applied electric field increases seed germination and plant growth of Zea mays L. These results were obtained with the different transport phenomena that develop when using the electric field in the soil Vertisol pelic understudy at a pilot level.