Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Soil Remediation: Hydrocycloning for Metal Removal in Flood-Prone Brazilian Region

Marcos Sillos (), Paula F. da Silva (), Alexandra Suhogusoff and Graça Brito
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Marcos Sillos: Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Paula F. da Silva: Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Alexandra Suhogusoff: Centro de Pesquisa de Águas Subterrâneas (CEPAS|USP), Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Lago, 562—CEP, São Paulo 05508-080, SP, Brazil
Graça Brito: Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: Soil contamination by heavy metals from industrial and mining activities poses a significant global threat to both environmental and human health, particularly in brownfields—abandoned or underutilized industrial areas that frequently accumulate pollutants. Climate change exacerbates this issue by intensifying extreme events such as floods, which can enhance contaminant mobility and compromise the reliability of conventional remediation methods. This study evaluated the in situ application of a sustainable soil washing technique based on hydrocycloning at a contaminated site in Canoas (Porto Alegre, Brazil), a flood-prone area heavily impacted by the 2024 climate disaster. The method physically separates heavy metals by concentrating them into a fine, high-contamination fraction for controlled disposal. Approximately 3019 m 3 of soil was treated, recovering 93.4% of the material (coarse and fine sand) for potential reuse and isolating only 6.6% (200 m 3 ) as hazardous waste. Chemical analyses confirmed that the recovered fractions complied with regulatory limits for heavy metals, while contaminants were effectively retained in the sludge and safely disposed of through landfills. During the April–May 2024 flood events, although the site was inundated, no significant erosion of the backfilled material was registered. The results support hydrocycloning-based soil washing as a robust and climate-resilient approach to adaptive remediation in contaminated environments.

Keywords: sustainable remediation; heavy metals; hydrocycloning-based soil washing; resilience; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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