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Open Access | Published on October 5, 2025

Remediation of Lead-Contaminated Sand through Cerussite Formation and its Effects on Sand Shear Strength Properties

Keykha Hamed Abdeh
Bush Jonathan Max Robert
Romiani Hadi Mohamadzadeh
Abstract

This study addresses the effect of CO2 syntesised carbonate minerals use in situ to remediate lead (Pb)- contaminated soil and their effect on the soil mechanical properties. A spiked sandy soil sample contaminated with 3,000 ppm of lead nitrate (Pb(NO₃)₂) was subjected to injection of hydroxide (NaOH) solution and CO2 gas, which resulted in the formation of lead carbonate (PbCO3) minerals, identified as cerussite by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations. After 8 hours, more than 99% of the lead was converted to lead carbonate and successfully separated from the soil, showing the high promise of using the proposed in situ synthesis method for lead-contaminated soil remediation. On the other hand, direct shear tests of the soil showed some small reduction in the peak angle of friction at 15% cerussite contents, presumably due to the increased fines content; however the peak angle of friction was still high. This finding is important as depending on the soil use after decontamination, good mechanical properties of the soil may be a primary requirement.

Keywords
Lead contaminated soil, carbonate mineral synthesis, CO2 sequestration, cerussite, shear strength