ABSTRACT
When applying an electric field to a fine-porous, moist material, transport of ions, ionic species and water occurs. This means that transport of matter is possible even in dense materials where a pressure gradient is inefficient. Electrokinetics have been suggested to be utilized in civil and environmental engineering for various purposes, but the implementation of the methods has been relatively slow considering the very good results that have been obtained in the laboratory and pilot scale trials with e.g. chloride removal from concrete and removal of heavy metals from contaminated soils. One major reason for the slow implementation is that the fundamentals of the methods are not well understood, meaning that success or failure cannot always be sufficiently foreseen prior to an action.
