Electro-osmosis treatment techniques and their effect on dewatering of soils,sediments, and sludge: A review

Electro-osmosis is an established method of dewatering fine soils, sediments, and sludge (SSS). The efficiency of electro-osmotic treatment is controlled by the electrical resistance of the system. Due to an increase in SSS resistance during treatment, its cost efficiency is reduced, limiting the widespread use of this technique. The aim of this paper is to discuss the main reasons for the increase in SSS resistance during treatment and then to analyze the most recent and widely spread modifications to classical electro-osmotic treatment that attempt to combat these issues and improve the efficiency of the technique. These modifications to electro-osmotic treatment are polarity reversal, an intermittent current, the injection of chemical solutions at the electrodes, and the use of geo-synthetics. The paper discusses the relevant research on the above adaptations, and the advantages and disadvantages of each are evaluated and compared using the available laboratory and field tests in the literature on electro-osmotic dewatering research. All four methods of modification are shown to provide significant improvements and can be successfully translated to the field for greater use. However, the improvements they bring about may not be sufficient to warrant their general use in geotechnical applications.     

Electrodynamically actuated on-chip flow cytometry with low shear stress for electro-osmosis based sorting using low conductive medium

In the proposed paper, we demonstrate on-chip electrodynamically driven actuator flow cytometry, based on negative dielectrophoretic (nDEP) focus and alternating current electro-osmotic flow (ACEOF) sorting technique. This single chip can perform three different functions such as focusing, transportation of beads/cells to detection site and reloading the unsorted ones with two distinctive phenomena. AC EOF is achieved by the design of the asymmetric electrode pair’s array and nDEP is used to focus the beads/cells in-line. The design, simulation and experimental results of the proposed microchip are reported in this paper. The simulation and experimental results reveal well defined stable region for nDEP and ACEOF driving force. The potential severe shear stress damage caused by the sheath flow in conventional flow cytometry is eliminated. In addition, to explore the influence of conductivity of the medium, we have used low conductive formulated medium with conductivity of 81.4 μS/cm. The voltage and the frequency required to manipulate the particles decreased comparatively with the use of this medium.     

Modelling the electro-osmotically enhanced pressure dewatering of activated sludge

The mechanical dewatering of biological materials, such as activated sludge, is troublesome due to their high compressibility. The dewatering can be improved drastically by the use of electro-osmosis, a technique in which a direct current electric field is applied to the filter cake, inducing an electro-kinetic displacement of the liquid phase. In this article, a model is presented which describes this process for a one-dimensional, one-sided filter press. The model starts from two existing models, each describing a part of the process [Iwata, M., Igami, H., Murase, T., 1991. Analysis of electroosmotic dewatering. Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan 24(1), 45-50; Sørensen, P.B., Moldrup, P., Hansem, J.A., 1996. Filtration and expression of compressible cakes. Chemical Engineering Science 51(6), 967-979]. A robust solution scheme for the basic flux and continuity equations is used to describe filtration and expression. Regarding the electro-osmosis, an adapted form of the Darcy equation, expressing electro-osmotic induced flow as well as pressure induced flow, is integrated into the former solution scheme. This permits the simulation of the overall process using a single model. Validation of the model revealed that the experimental piston height during dewatering can be described accurately provided that temperature effects are taken into account.     

Improved estimates of power consumption during dewatering of mine tailings using electrokinetic geosynthetics (EKGs)

Electrokinetic geosynthetics (EKGs) were developed about a decade ago, producing a material that did not experience the same corrosion problems as metal electrodes when used in electro-osmotic (EO) dewatering applications. The conductive polymeric material from which EKGs are made has the additional advantage of being able to be formed into a variety of shapes, including drainage tubes such as those used in this study. One of the primary concerns regarding EO dewatering applications is the rate of energy consumption. This paper reports experiments at three different scales, on different mine tailings materials, that illustrates the potentially misleading results obtained from small scale laboratory tests. Using large, outdoor tests, power consumption rates for treating a kaolinitic mineral sands tailings and a smectitic diamond tailings were found to be up to 30 times lower than the power consumption rates obtained from laboratory tests using small samples in a purpose built EO cell. The primary reason for the improved performance is thought to be the lower voltage gradient used in the field tests, plus the geometric advantages offered by a field layout where a greater volume of material is exposed to the EO effect than only the material directly between the electrodes, which is the case in the EO cell tests. Finally, in the field tests the EO treatment caused the early development of vertical cracks in the tailings, resulting in increased exposure of the tailings to the effects of solar drying. This effect cannot obviously be reproduced in the EO cell laboratory tests, and can be a major advantage for the in situ treatment of mine tailings lagoons, where in some materials the onset of cracking is significantly delayed by the development of an impermeable surface crust.     

Electromigration of sodium ions and electro-osmotic flow in water-saturated, compacted Na-montmorillonite

Sodium ions spiked with ²²Na as a tracer were migrated by electromigration and electro-osmosis in the water-saturated compacted Na-montmorillonite at dry densities 1.0×10³ kg m⁻³, under an electric potential gradient. Dissolved helium was also migrated by electro-osmosis in the montmorillonite. After migration, concentration profiles of the sodium ions and helium were obtained by γ-spectrometry and mass-spectrometric methods, respectively. From the profiles of both chemical species, not only migration due to electrokinetic phenomena but also mechanical dispersion was observed in the montmorillonite. The dispersion coefficients, D_i, and apparent migration rates, U_i^a, of ²²Na and helium were found in the compacted Na-montmorillonite at 1.0×10³ kg m⁻³. The migration of helium in the montmorillonite under an electric potential gradient reflects that of water because helium migrates as an electrically neutral species. The parameters D_He^m, U_He^a, and α_He correspond to those of water. The mechanical dispersion coefficients, D_Na^m, of ²²Na⁺ ions are much smaller than those of water obtained by helium. The dispersivity parameters, α_Na, for ²²Na⁺ obtained from these D_Na and U_Na^a values are 10⁻⁵ m and those for water (α_He) are 10⁻³ m. This indicates that ²²Na⁺ ions migrate in different spaces than water in the compacted montmorillonite under a potential gradient. This finding suggests that the migration of Na⁺ ions occurs in the interlayer and/or on the outer surfaces of the montmorillonite; whereas dissolved helium migrates in the pore water.     

The role of diffusion induced electro-osmosis in the coupling between hydraulic and ionic fluxes through semipermeable clay soils

Most of the experimental research conducted to date has provided evidence on the semipermeable membrane behaviour of smectite-rich clay soils, the extent of which is typically quantified through the reflection coefficient, when the permeant (electrolyte) solution contains a single monovalent or divalent salt. Under such conditions, the osmotic flow of solution is controlled to a great extent by the different accessibility of ions and water molecules to the soil porosity, which is referred to as the chemico-osmotic effect. However, theoretical simulations of coupled solute and solvent transport suggest that, when two or more cations that diffuse in water at different rates are present simultaneously in the permeant solution, the electro-osmotic effect, which stems from the condition of null electric current density through the porous medium, can be enhanced compared to the case of a single salt to such an extent that it becomes comparable to or even greater than the chemico-osmotic effect. An original closed-form analytical solution to the problem of calculating the diffusion potential, which in turn controls the magnitude of the electro-osmotic effect, is here illustrated, and the relative importance of the aforementioned contributions to multi-electrolyte systems is examined through the interpretation of laboratory test results from the literature pertaining to a bentonite amended clay soil in equilibrium with aqueous mixtures of potassium chloride (KCl) and hydrochloric acid (HCl). The proposed mechanistic model is shown to be able to quantitatively capture the impact of both chemico-osmosis and electro-osmosis on the measured reflection coefficient of smectite clays, thereby breaking new ground in the experimental and theoretical research on the osmotic properties of engineered clay barriers in contact with mixed aqueous electrolyte solutions.     

Vacuum Preloading Combined with Electro-Osmotic Dewatering of Dredger Fill Using Electric Vertical Drains

Based on the vacuum preloading combined electro-osmotic consolidation method, a site comparison trial of vacuum preloading and vacuum preloading in combination with electro-osmotic consolidation was performed on Li Island, Hubei Province. The performance and drainage effects of electric vertical drains were evaluated. The problems were analyzed by monitoring test results. Test results from the field showed that the water content of the dredger fill was greatly reduced and the physico-mechanical properties and bearing capacity were improved significantly after 28 days of treatment by vacuum preloading in combination with electro-osmotic consolidation. Compared with the vacuum preloading method, vacuum preloading in combination with the electro-osmotic consolidation method using electric vertical drains reduced the construction time, saved energy, and achieved an ideal reinforcement effect.     

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON REDUCING ADHESION IN COAL HOPPER BY SURFACE ELECTRO-OSMOSIS

The adhesion mechanics of coal and the behavior of the coal adhesion to the hopper are analyzed. A model coal hopper is developed, and the model experiments are made by using the surface electro-osmosis technology according to the processing conditions. The parameters of the surface electro-osmosis technology are optimized by the method of orthogonal polynomial regression designing. The result shows that the surface electro-osmosis technique is one of the good methods to solve the adhering problem of coal to the coal hopper in transfer piping.     

尾矿充填料浆电渗脱水固结实验

设计了尾砂充填料浆电渗脱水固结实验教学装置,以自然脱水为对照,开展不同初始条件下的充填料浆脱水固结实验。通过监测实验过程中充填料浆的脱水量、浆面沉降高度、温度、电流以及检测尾砂充填体试块强度,对比分析充填料浆在不同条件下的脱水固结性状,研究通电对充填料浆脱水固结过程的影响。本实验有助于采矿工程专业学生与研究人员进一步了解尾砂充填料浆特性,掌握充填料浆电渗脱水方法。