Abstract—Heavy metal contamination is a major social issue in the era of urbanization and industrialization. Industries are practicing open dumping since it is an economic means of waste disposal. Wastes which contain heavy metal will contaminate soil as well as ground water. So soil remediation is nowadays gaining importance. Not only industries, but also households and vehicles cause heavy metal contamination. A number of methods are available for soil contamination. But 100% removal is not possible. But electrokinetic remediation method removes heavy metals effectively because en external energy is applied in the form of current. This method does not cause any secondary pollution. Various enhancement techniques are available to increase the removal efficiency. This article provides a brief description of different remediation techniques available and various enhancement techniques practiced in electrokinetic remediation. 

Index Terms—heavy metal, contaminated soil, remediation techniques, electrokinetic remediation, enhancement techniques

Cite: Sruthy O A and S Jayalekshmi, "Electrokinetic Remediation of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil," International Journal of Structural and Civil Engineering Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 103-111, February 2014.