The feasibility study of soil flushing was investigated to remediate lubricant oil and zinc contaminated railway soil. In this study, mixed washing agents of surfactant and inorganic acid/base were used for the simultaneous removal. The mixed washing agent of non-ionic surfactant and HCl removed 15% of the lubricant oil and 40% of zinc, respectively. Alkaline-enhanced soil washing process increased the removal of lubricant oil up to 40%. This is because alkaline solution reduced the interfacial tension between water phase and lubricant oil phase due to the soap formation reaction. To simulate in-situ soil flushing for the remediation of railroad-related contamination, two dimensional soil flushing was carried out based on the results of batch soil washing. In the soil flushing, the removal efficiencies of lubricant oil and zinc were 34% and 16%, respectively. Even though the removal efficiency was low, the mixed washing agent can remove metal and lubricant oil simultaneously.

Keywords: Railroad-contaminated soil;Lubricant oil;Zinc;Soil flushing;Soil washing;