Applied Clay Science 111 (2015) 76–82

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Applied Clay Science

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/clay

Research paper

Electro-osmotic enhancement of bentonite with reactive and

inert electrodes
Hui Wu 1, Liming Hu ⁎, Qingbo Wen 2
State Key Laboratory of Hydro-Science and Engineering, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Electro-osmosis can be a potential improvement technique for expansive soils. One-dimensional column
Received 29 January 2015 experiments were conducted to comprehend the impact of electro-osmosis on the consolidation behavior and the
Received in revised form 4 April 2015 geotechnical properties of a sodium bentonite with different electrode materials, including two reactive electrodes
Accepted 6 April 2015
(copper and iron) and two inert electrodes (graphite and stainless steel). The change in drainage rate, electric
Available online xxxx
current and voltage loss close to the anode were similar for the four electrodes, with a rapid change stage in the
Keywords:
first 2 h followed by a slow change stage in the next 6 to 8 h and finally a stable stage. The rapid voltage loss in
Electro-osmosis the first stage was caused by soil cracking near the anode due to severe volume shrinkage and gas generation.
Sodium bentonite Soil properties, including plasticity, swelling potential, zeta potential, and cation exchange capacity decreased
Electrode material emarkably in the vicinity of the anode. During electro-osmosis, the reactive electrodes caused more significant
Consolidation change in soil properties than the inert ones. Electro-osmosis technique can reduce the swelling potential of the
Geotechnical property bentonite, however, the zone of influence is restrained.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Electro-osmosis is an electrically induced process in which pore
water is driven from the anode to the cathode with the dissolved
electrolytes, leading to dewatering and consolidation of soil or
other porous media. Casagrande (1948) made use of this phenomenon
to consolidate soft soil and enhance the geotechnical properties for
engineering purposes. Since then, electro-osmosis has been successfully
employed for soft ground improvement, slope stabilization, dewatering
of tailings and sludge, pile foundation and soil remediation (Casagrande,
1983; Lo and Ho, 1991; Reddy and Saichek, 2002; Glendinning et al.,
2007; Jones et al., 2008; Chien et al., 2009; Lamont-Black and Weltman,
2010; Cameselle and Reddy, 2012; Hu et al., 2012; Wu and Hu, 2013;
Hu and Wu, 2014).
The strength of soil is enhanced as a result of two processes: the
discharge of pore water and the complex chemical reactions including
water electrolysis, electrode corrosion, cation exchange and cementation
under the influence of an electric field. These chemical reactions are
expected to alter the geotechnical properties of the soils. Previous studies
reported the change in Atterberg limits for different soils after
electro-osmosis (Bjerrum et al., 1967; Esrig and Gemeinhardt, 1967;
Casagrande, 1983; Lo and Ho, 1991; Bergado et al., 2000; Micic et al.,
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 10 62797416; fax: +86 10 62773576.
E-mail addresses: hui-wu10@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn (H. Wu), gehu@tsinghua.edu.cn
(L. Hu), wenqb@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn (Q. Wen).
1
Tel.: +86 10 62794154.
2
Tel.: +86 10 62788559.
2001; Asavadorndeja and Glawe, 2005; Ou et al., 2009; Abdullah and
Al-Abadi, 2010). However, their conclusions were different or even
contradictory when different kinds of soils were tested. The results on
illitic clay and soft Bangkok clay indicated that both the liquid limit
and the plastic limit increased, while marine clay exhibited no change
in neither the liquid limit nor the plastic limit during electro-osmosis
(Bjerrum et al., 1967; Esrig and Gemeinhardt, 1967; Lo and Ho, 1991;
Bergado et al., 2000; Micic et al., 2001). Both the clay mineral category
and the content have considerable influences on soil behavior during
electro-osmosis. Most of the previous electro-osmosis experiments
were conducted on kaolinite or local soft clay, while studies on expansive
soils that usually contain large amounts of expansive clay minerals
(especially smectite) were rarely reported. Expansive soils are
characterized by severe swelling and shrinkage due to change in
water content, which may lead to significant volume change and result
in deformation of overlying buildings or pavements. Electro-osmosis
may be a potential technique to improve expansive soils since the soil
plasticity is changed during this process.
The main objective of this paper was to study the impact of electro-
osmosis on the consolidation behavior and the geotechnical properties
of a sodium bentonite, which has similar characteristics (high swelling
and low permeability) and components (smectite) as expansive soil.
One-dimensional column experiments were conducted on the sodium
bentonite with reactive (copper and iron) and inert (graphite and
stainless steel) electrodes in order to analyze the effect of different
electrode materials. During the experiments, water discharge, electric
current and voltage distribution along the soil column were monitored.
A camera was used to observe the behavior of the soil–anode interface.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2015.04.006
0169-1317/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 H. Wu et al. / Applied Clay Science 111 (2015) 76–82
After the experiments, soil samples taken from different positions of the
soil column were prepared for geotechnical property tests, including
plasticity index, free swelling ratio, zeta potential, and cation exchange
capacity.
2. Materials and experiments
2.1. Materials
A sodium bentonite from the city of Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province
of China was used for electro-osmosis experiments. The geotechnical
properties and the chemical composition of the material are summarized
in Table 1. The high plasticity index (124%) and free swelling ratio (540%)
indicate that the sodium bentonite possesses remarkable swelling and
shrinkage characteristics. The dominant Na+ cation, as reflected by the
2.9 wt.% Na2O, is the main reason for the high swelling potential. The
specific surface area is 33.89 m2/g, and the cation exchange capacity is
40.03 meq/100 g.
2.2. Experiment apparatus
Fig. 1 displayed the details of the 1-D column apparatus used in this
study. The testing cell was made of 5 mm thick plexiglass, and had an
inside diameter of 90 mm and a height of 250 mm. The wall was
equipped with two pipes for inflow and outflow of water. The upper
pipe was used for outflow of discharged water due to electro-osmosis.
The lower pipe was used for inflow of deionized water during the
sample saturation period and was sealed with glass cement to achieve
an impervious bottom boundary before the test began. The anode platen
was placed on the bottom of the soil column, while the porous cathode
platen was placed on the top. The thickness of the electrode was 3 mm
and more details about the cathode were illustrated in Fig. 1. Small holes
with a radius of 0.5 mm were drilled on the cathode platen so that the
discharged water could pass through. Particularly 8 circular grooves,
0.5 mm in depth and 2 mm in width, and a vertical groove, 2 mm in
width, were slotted on the cathode to lead the discharged water to the
drainage pipe. The depth of the vertical groove was designed to be
gradational and increased from 0.5 mm on the left side to 1.5 mm on
the right side. The discharged water can flow because of gravity to the
right side of the vertical groove, which was aimed at the drainage pipe.
Six voltage probes were inserted into the bentonite column through
the small holes on the testing cell. The probes were marked as V1, V2,
V3, V4, V5, and V6, which had a distance of 10 mm, 46 mm, 82 mm,
118 mm, 154 mm, and 190 mm to the cathode, respectively. V1 and
Table 1
Geotechnical properties and chemical composition of the sodium bentonite.
Properties
Geotechnical properties
Specific gravity, Gs
Initial water content, w (%)
Liquid limit, wL (%)
Plastic limit, wP (%)
Plasticity index, Ip (%)
Free swelling ratio, FSR (%)
Cation exchange capacity, CEC (meq/100 g)
Zeta potential, ζ (mv)
Chemical composition (weight proportion, %)
SiO2
Al2O3
CaO
MgO
Fe2O3
Na2O
K2O
SO3
TiO2
Cl
77
V6 were placed in the vicinity of electrodes so that the voltage loss
close to the electrodes could be measured. In addition, a camera was
applied during the experiments in order to investigate the behavior of
soil–anode interface.
Previous studies indicated that the drainage and consolidation
behavior was different when different electrode materials were
used during electro-osmosis (Lockhart, 1983; Bergado et al., 2000;
Mohamedelhassan and Shang, 2001). In order to study the effect of
electrode materials on the electro-osmotic enhancement of bentonite,
four types of electrodes were used including two reactive electrodes
(copper and iron) and two inert electrodes (graphite and stainless
steel).
2.3. Sample preparation
A porous stone was placed on the bottom of the testing cell to prevent
the bentonite from being pressed out. The anode platen was then placed
upon the porous stone. The bentonite powder was first mixed with
deionized water at a pre-determined water content of 10 wt.% before
compacted in the column by five layers. After that, the compacted
bentonite was saturated by vacuum method to achieve an initial
water content of 150 wt.%. The cathode platen, along with a filter
paper, was placed upon the bentonite sample.
2.4. Experiment program
A constant voltage gradient of 100 V/m was applied to the bentonite
samples for 24 h. After the experiments, soil samples from different
locations of the bentonite column were prepared for subsequent physical
and chemical analysis, including the determination of Atterberg limits,
free swelling ratio, and cation exchange capacity (Chinese Specifications
of Soil Testing, SL237-1999). The zeta potential was measured with a
Beckman DelsaNano C zeta potential instrument at a constant pH of 6.5.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Water discharge and electric current
The water discharge and drainage rate for the four electrodes were
displayed in Figs. 2 and 3. The total volume of the discharged water
was 69 ml, 47.5 ml, 30 ml, and 26 ml for the copper, iron, graphite,
and stainless steel electrodes respectively. The copper electrodes
accounted for the best drainage performance while the stainless steel
electrodes accounted for the worst.
The initial drainage rate for the four electrodes was approximately
34 ml/h, and three stages afterwards for water drainage were observed
Values (Fig. 3). In the first 2 h (Stage 1), the drainage rate decreased rapidly to
less than 5 ml/h. This was followed by a slow decrease stage (Stage 2) in
2.625 the next 6 to 8 h and afterwards a stable stage (Stage 3). Fig. 4 showed
1.33
the real time electric current through the bentonite columns during the
155
31 experiments. In the first half hour, the electric current increased slightly
124 due to the presence of salt precipitates that went into the solution, as
540 well as the desorption and mobilization of ions in the soil matrix
40.03 (Mitchell and Soga, 2005; Yukselen-Aksoy and Reddy, 2012; Cameselle
−36.05
and Reddy, 2013). Afterwards, the change in electric current was similar
68.2 to that in drainage rate, with a rapid decrease stage (Stage 1) where the
15.1 initial values of around 0.3 to 0.35 A were decreased to 0.12, 0.08, 0.03,
4.2 and 0.03 A for the copper, iron, graphite, and stainless steel electrodes
3.8
respectively. There after a slow decrease stage (Stage 2) followed in
3.1
2.9 which the electric current further decreased to 0.05, 0.02, 0.01, and
1.6 0.01 A and finally a stable stage (Stage 3) was reached. Figs. 3 and 4
0.4 indicated that the copper electrodes had the largest drainage rate and
0.4 electric current. The reactive electrodes exhibited a larger electric
0.08
current and therefore a better drainage effect than the inert electrodes.
78 H. Wu et al. / Applied Clay Science 111 (2015) 76–82
Fig. 1. One dimensional column apparatus for electro-osmosis experiment (length unit: mm).
3.2. Voltage loss
During electro-osmosis, the effective voltage applied on the soil
samples encountered significant reduction close to the anode, and the
voltage loss for this study was illustrated in Fig. 5. Similar to the drainage
rate and electric current, the change in voltage loss close to the anode
also experienced 3 stages. About 58% (copper), 72% (iron), 79%
(graphite) and 77% (stainless steel) of the applied voltage was lost
in the first 2 h (Stage 1). In the next 6 to 8 h (Stage 2), a relatively
small voltage loss occurred, which was about 22%, 13%, 10% and
10% respectively. The 3 stages represented in Figs. 3 to 5 had an identical
duration since the decrease of the electric current and the drainage rate
was mainly a result from the increase of voltage loss close to the anode.
After the experiments, a total of 84%, 89%, 89% and 88% of the applied
voltage were lost close to the anode for the copper, iron, graphite, and
stainless steel electrodes respectively.
Voltage losses close to the anode have also been analyzed in previous
laboratory and field studies, where the results showed that both the soil
type and electrode material had remarkable impact on the overall voltage
Fig. 2. Water discharge of the electro-osmosis experiments.
losses. A Norwegian clay presented a voltage loss of 52% close to the
anode after electro-osmosis, while a clay from Canada showed a voltage
loss of 25% (Bjerrum et al., 1967; Lo and Ho, 1991). Mohamedelhassan
and Shang (2001) performed experiments on a marine sediment in
Korea using different electrode materials, and the voltage loss at the
anode-soil interface was about 9% to 24%. The results from experiments
conducted by Tao et al. (2013) on a Zhejiang clay from China showed a
23% voltage loss for iron anode and an 83% for voltage loss for copper
anode. As for the sodium bentonite in this study, all four electrodes
exhibited a voltage loss of more than 80% close to the anode.
During electro-osmosis, the soil close to the anode lost water and
therefore a volume shrinkage appeared at the bottom of the soil column.
This was accompanied by an increasing gas pressure at the soil–anode
interface due to water electrolysis and the impervious bottom boundary
(Acar et al., 1990). Because the sodium bentonite used in this study
possessed a more significant shrinkage property than other soils, soil
cracking close to the anode was more severe (Fig. 6). For the reactive
electrodes vertical cracks were formed after about 1.8 h, while a
horizontal crack appeared at the soil–anode interface for the inert
electrodes. These cracks, especially the horizontal crack, caused the
significant voltage loss in Stage 1 (Fig. 5), which further led to the
Fig. 3. Drainage rate of the electro-osmosis experiments.
 H. Wu et al. / Applied Clay Science 111 (2015) 76–82
Fig. 4. Electric current of the electro-osmosis experiments.
decrease in the electric current and drainage rate. The different crack
behaviors finally induced different drainage effects, which were better
for the reactive electrodes than for the inert electrodes. To improve
the effect of electro-osmosis on high swelling clay, the shrinkage of
soil and the gas generation should be restrained by methods such as a
pervious anode boundary or a combination with surcharge preloading
and chemical injection.
3.3. Geotechnical property
3.3.1. Plasticity
A great number of previous laboratory and field experiments reported
the change in soil plasticity after electro-osmosis, however, the conclusion
about the impact of electro-osmosis on soil plasticity was inconsistent. Lo
and Ho (1991) showed an increased liquid limit and a constant plastic
limit after electro-osmosis on a soft sensitive clay from Canada, while
Micic et al. (2001) indicated that both the liquid limit and the plastic
limit of the tested marine sediment from Korea increased after
electro-osmotic treatment. Abdullah and Al-Abadi (2010) reported a
contradictory result on an expansive soil form Jordan, which showed
that both the liquid limit and the plasticity index decreased after
Fig. 5. Voltage loss close to the anode of the electro-osmosis experiments.
79
electro-osmosis. The change in soil plasticity also differed for different
locations between the electrodes. Esrig and Gemeinhardt (1967) reported
that the Atterberg limits of an illitic clay increased mainly in the vicinity of
the cathode and a long period of treatment was necessary before
significant changes occurred in the vicinity of the anode. Casagrande
(1983) showed that both the Atterberg limits and the plasticity index
of a silty clay increased after electro-osmosis, particularly in the vicinity
of the anode, and that the magnitudes of the changes decreased
towards the cathode.
The change in plasticity index of the sodium bentonite in this study
was quite different from that showed in previous experiments (Fig. 7).
The electrode material had a considerable impact on the change that
occurred in soil plasticity index after electro-osmosis. Soil samples
from different locations also showed different results. The plasticity
index decreased from 155% to 49.8% and 59.9% at the anode section
and to 60.8% and 116.7% at the cathode section for the copper and the
iron electrodes respectively. However, the change was much smaller
at the middle section, and the copper electrodes even showed a slightly
increased plasticity index. For the two inert electrodes, a slight decrease
at the anode section and a slight increase at the middle and cathode
sections were observed. Reactive electrodes had more obvious effect
than inert electrodes, and copper electrodes exhibited the most
significant impact on soil plasticity during electro-osmosis among
the four different electrodes.
3.3.2. Free swelling ratio
The swelling potential of expansive soil can be expressed by the free
swelling ratio defined as the ratio of the difference in volumes of the soil
powder in water and air, to the volume of the soil powder in air. It can be
expressed as following:
 
V w −V a
FSR ¼  100% ð1Þ
Va
where FSR denotes the free swelling ratio; and Vw and Va are the final
volume of soil in water and air.
The variation of FSR was similar to that of the plasticity index (Fig. 8).
The FSR decreased at the anode section from 540% to about 110% and
140% for copper and iron electrodes, accompanied by an increase at
the left middle section and a decrease at the cathode section. The
magnitude of the change appeared largest at the anode section. For
the inert electrodes, the decrease in FSR occurred only at the left
anode section, and increased at the right anode and middle section. At
the cathode section, the FSR increased for the stainless steel electrodes
and decreased for the graphite electrodes. From these data, a conclusion
can be drawn that electro-osmosis can restrain the swelling potential of
the bentonite, and that the effect is more thorough for the reactive
electrodes (especially for copper electrodes) than for the inert ones.
However, the effect mainly occurs in the vicinity of the anode. In order
to extend the treatment area, electro-osmosis should be applied together
with other methods as mentioned before to maintain the electric current
in the soil.
There is a large extent of literature studies regarding lime stabilization
for the improvement of expansive soil, and the effectiveness of this
method has been proved (Du et al., 1999; Stoltz et al., 2012). Compared
to lime stabilization, electro-osmosis cannot only restrain the swelling
potential of expansive soil but also consolidate the treated soil.
Electro-osmosis has the potential to be a more effective in-situ technique
for the improvement of bentonite and expansive soil.
The change of soil properties can also affect the drainage and
consolidation process. With the decrease of plasticity and FSR at
the anode section, the shrinkage of the bentonite at the bottom of
the soil column was reduced during the experiment. The reduction
was larger for reactive electrodes than for inert electrodes. The more
thorough restraint of shrinkage potential explained the different crack
behavior at the soil–anode interface, namely, small vertical cracks rather
80 H. Wu et al. / Applied Clay Science 111 (2015) 76–82

Fig. 6. Images of the soil–anode interface in the electro-osmosis experiments.

than a horizontal crack was formed for the reactive electrodes.
Moreover, Figs. 7 and 8 further indicated that the copper electrodes
had the best restraining effect on the swelling shrinkage potential,
therefore the copper electrodes presented the least voltage loss
and the best drainage performance.
3.3.3. Zeta potential and cation exchange capacity
Under an applied electric field, ion exchange reactions occur
between the released metal ions and the pre-existing ions in the double
layer. This leads to the change of ion species and concentration in the
double layer, and further induces the change of double layer properties
such as zeta potential and cation exchange capacity (CEC) (Van Olphen,
1977; Shang et al., 1993; Wu and Hu, 2014; Du et al., 2015).

Fig. 7. Change of soil plasticity after electro-osmosis. Fig. 8. Change of the free swelling ratio after electro-osmosis.
 H. Wu et al. / Applied Clay Science 111 (2015) 76–82
Fig. 9. Change of zeta potential after electro-osmosis.
Fig. 9 displayed the distribution of zeta potential along the soil
column after electro-osmosis for the four electrodes. The value
of the zeta potential decreased at the left anode section from
− 36.1 mV to − 12.5, − 17.3, − 22.0, and − 26.0 mV for the copper,
iron, graphite and stainless steel electrodes respectively. An increase
in zeta potential occurred at the middle section. The comparison indicated
that the magnitudes of the changes decreased in the direction of
copper N iron N graphite N stainless steel electrodes.
The CEC decreased in the whole soil column after electro-osmosis,
with the largest decrease at the anode section from 40.03 cmol/kg to
12.2, 20.3, 26.9, and 27.4 cmol/kg for the copper, iron, graphite and
stainless steel electrodes respectively (Fig. 10). The magnitudes
of the changes also decreased in the direction of copper N iron N
graphite N stainless steel electrodes.
Soil type and electrode material are relevant for electro-osmotic
induced changes in soil geotechnical properties. In this study, the
plasticity, FSR, zeta potential, and CEC of the sodium bentonite
changed after electro-osmosis, with a remarkable decrease in the vicinity
of the anode. The impact of the reactive electrodes, especially the copper
electrodes, was larger than that of the inert ones.
Fig. 10. Change of cation exchange capacity after electro-osmosis.
81
4. Conclusions
Four 1-D column experiments were conducted with copper, iron,
graphite, and stainless steel electrodes to study the impact of
electro-osmosis on the consolidation behavior and the geotechnical
properties of a sodium bentonite. Water discharge, electric current, and
voltage loss were analyzed to investigate drainage and consolidation
behaviors. Geotechnical properties, including plasticity, free swelling
ratio, zeta potential and cation exchange capacity were also measured
and discussed.
The drainage rate, electric current and voltage loss close to the anode
exhibited similar change patterns with a rapid change stage in the first
2 h followed by a slow change stage in the next 6 to 8 h and finally a
stable stage. Due to the severe volume shrinkage and gas generation,
small vertical cracks formed in the vicinity of the anode for the reactive
electrodes, while a horizontal crack appeared at the soil–anode interface
for the inert electrodes. The cracks, especially the horizontal crack, were
the main reason for the rapid voltage loss in the first 2 h. As a result, the
drainage and consolidation of the sodium bentonite was restrained. To
improve the drainage effect of electro-osmosis on high swelling clay,
the shrinkage of soil and gas pressure must be controlled.
Soil plasticity, free swelling ratio, zeta potential, and cation exchange
capacity changed after electro-osmosis, with a remarkable decrease
occurring in the vicinity of the anode. The impact of copper electrodes
was the largest and reactive electrodes achieved better improvement
effect than inert electrodes. The changes in these geotechnical properties
indicate that electro-osmosis may be a potential technique for the
improvement of expansive soil, however, the improvement mainly
occurs in the vicinity of the anode. Further studies are needed to
investigate how to extend the zone of influence.
Acknowledgments
Financial support from the National Basic Research Program of China
(Grant No. 2012CB719804) and the National Natural Science Foundation
of China (50978139, 51128901, 51323014) is gratefully acknowledged.
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