Are electrochemical fences effective in the retention of pollution?

Abstract

In this work, a three-month test is used to evaluate the role of electrokinetic fences in the prevention of the diffusion of herbicide in case of accidental spills of large amounts of highly concentrated products in clay soil. To do this, a mock-up (0.95 × 2.00 × 0.50 m3) is used and an electrokinetic fence is placed far away from the hydraulic plume in order to mitigate the effect of the diffuse pollution caused by the spill of an important amount of 2,4-dichlorofenoxiacetic acid (2,4-D) and oxyfluorfen. The results confirm that diffusion of pollutants is important and that the presence of an electrokinetic fence can contain micellar pollutants and help to minimize the trespassing of soluble pollutants, although they cannot fully prevent this trespass. The results obtained in this work are compared to those obtained in previous works, in which fence technology with surrounding electrode placement was evaluated and important differences were pointed out; this has generated valuable data for the design of this technology.