Active Capping Treatment of Copper and Chromium Contaminated Sediment with Bentonite Kaolin and Sand to Inhibit their Release to the Overlying Water

The public concern over sediment contamination brought on by mining operations, excessive use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides, industrial, agricultural, and municipal effluent, is increasing. Dredging is a more expensive treatment option than in situ capping of polluted sediment for immobilising pollutants in sediments on site. In order to stop the release of Cr and Cu from chemically contaminated sediments, this study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of utilising active capping materials such as bentonite (B), kaolin (K), and a 1:1 combination of bentonite and kaolin (BK) as capping materials. In a 90-day laboratory experiment carried out in glass tanks with a 1 cm thickness cover of capped material plus sand spread over the polluted sediment, the efficacy of B, K, and BK in inhibiting trace metal leachability was examined. The findings demonstrated that B and BK decreased the ability of sediments to leach Cr and Cu. The results suggest that BK and B should be considered as a suitable active material for capping treatment of polluted sediment sites because of their high Cu and Cr trapping. According to an analysis of adsorption kinetics, chemisorption was the adsorption process. The outcomes of this study demonstrated the potential for using kaolin, a bentonite-kaolin clay mixture covered with sand, and bentonite as capping materials for the in-situ treatment of Cr and Cu polluted coastal sediments.