In soil washing, there are many variables including types of reagent and contaminant, washing time, soil-liquid ratio, washing cycles, washing agent concentrations, and etc. To identify the most influencing factors on soil washing process, regression analysis was performed for eight single variables and five combined variables. A quantitative model that employs W/H (molar ratio of washing agent to heavy metal) as a major variable was established based on the regression. The validity of the model was demonstrated by conducting lab experiments with Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni and As-contaminated soils, and various washing reagents including acetic acid, citric acid, malic acid, oxalic acid, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and nitriloacetic acid (NTA). The washing efficiencies were compared with the EDTA washing data reported in the literature. The correlation between W/H and removal efficiency was analyzed after dividing data into two groups according to the heavy metal mobility.

Keywords: Soil washing;Heavy metal;Regression analysis;Statistical model;