16. Ex situ washing

Another keyword: soil washing

Ex situ washing is the washing of soil with a solvent (usually water) after excavation (figure 16 ). This technique transfers pollutants from the soil to the solvent (or aqueous) phase, which is then treated. Soil washing machines are available on the market, but are still very expensive. However, they are less costly than incineration and have applications for certain soil/pollutant configurations.

• Principle

  Several processes are referred to as ex situ washing. However, they all use the same principle: adding a suitable solvent or water to the excavated soil to extract...