Overview of ex situ decontamination techniques for soil cleanup

Abstract

The paper is a short review on the soil decontamination applying ex-situ techniques. Some sources and pathways of soil contamination are discussed. It was revealed that available techniques for soil decontamination can be divided in two parts, depending on where the action have place: in-situ or ex-situ. Also, depending on the nature of the process, these techniques can be biological, physical-chemical and thermal. In order to decontaminate soils properly, the primary contaminants (hydrocarbons such as petroleum residues, solvents, pesticides, herbicides, wood preservatives, heavy metals, munitions, which result from different industries and agricultural activities) have to be detected and analyzed. The main features of ex-situ soil decontamination are reviewed and also status of each technology, advantages, disadvantages, limitations, and contaminants treated, are included.