Superfund Research Program

Demonstrating a Pilot System to Electrochemically Remediate Groundwater

Release Date: 06/11/2025

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By Michelle Zhao

Highlights

  • A system that uses electricity and a common mineral can remove a mixture of contaminants from groundwater.
  • The system can effectively remove contaminants for up to a year.
  • The technology may be a promising method to clean up groundwater.

Research Summary

Researchers partially funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) designed a scaled-up electrochemical system that combines electricity with the mineral pyrite, a mineral commonly found in the environment, to continuously remove organic and heavy metal contaminants from groundwater for a year. The study was led by Akram Alshawabkeh, Ph.D., from the Northeastern University SRP Center, and Kitae Baek, Ph.D., from Jeonbuk National University in Korea.

How the Electrochemical Pilot Works: Contaminated water is pumped through system with electricity. Electricity degrades the organic compounds, and pyrite removes the heavy metals. Water is cleaned up without needing further treatment for up to one year.

Mixtures of contaminants, including antibacterial sulfanilamide and heavy metals like chromium and arsenic, can leach into groundwater and affect human health. A previous study by Alshawabkeh showed that adding pyrite to an electrochemical remediation system could effectively remove multiple types of contaminants from groundwater.

“Electrochemical methods, which rely on electricity to degrade pollutants, have been shown to effectively remediate groundwater samples in labs,” said Alshawabkeh, “However, they have not been scaled up for pilot-scale or field applications.”

“Additionally, electrochemical remediation has mostly been tested for very short periods of time in conditions that don’t match groundwater environments,” added Baek. “We wanted to demonstrate the long-term utility of these systems for groundwater remediation in a real-world setting.”

Creating a Pilot System

The scientists created a pilot of the electrochemical system by taking the following steps:

  1. They divided an acrylic box into sections using plastic panels with holes in them, allowing water to flow through the box.
  2. Researchers filled some of the sections with sand to mimic a groundwater environment, leaving an empty chamber between each filled section.
  3. Pyrite was mixed into the sand.
  4. Electrodes were added to each empty chamber.

Then, the team ran an electric current through the system for one year and while pumping water with a mixture of sulfanilamide, chromium, and arsenic through the system. They collected samples of the system-treated water throughout the year and analyzed the samples for contaminant levels. They also tested the pH of the treated water to determine if the process acidified the water.

An Effective Remediation System

The researchers found that the electrochemical system simultaneously removed 100% of all three contaminants from the groundwater for a year, indicating that the system can remain stable and effective long-term. According to the authors, the combination of electricity, which degrades sulfanilamide, and pyrite adsorbing and reacting with arsenic and chromium effectively remediated the water. They added that the treated water remained a neutral pH, which means that no additional steps are needed to neutralize the water before it is discharged.

Additionally, the scientists noted that the system was highly energy efficient, using only 4 to 7.3 kilowatts per hour for every cubic meter of groundwater. In comparison, other studies ranged from 0.8 to 173 kilowatts per hour for every cubic meter.

Impact Statement

“The combined electrochemical and pyrite system successfully treated groundwater that was contaminated with sulfanilamide, chromium, and arsenic without affecting the water pH,” said Baek.

“The effectiveness of the pilot-scale system over one year shows that this is a promising technology for long-term groundwater remediation,” said Alshawabkeh.

For More Information Contact:

Akram N Alshawabkeh
Northeastern University
501 Stearns Center
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, Massachusetts 02115-5000
Phone: 617-373-3994
Email: a.alshawabkeh@northeastern.edu

Kitae Baek
Jeonbuk National University
567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin, Jeonju, Jeollabukdo 54896, Republic of Korea
Email: kbaek@jbnu.ac.kr

To learn more about this research, please refer to the following sources:

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