A Comparison Between Field Applications of Nano-, Micro-, and Millimetric Zero-Valent Iron for the Remediation of Contaminated Aquifers

Abstract

In the last 10 years, the number of field applications of zero-valent iron differing from permeable reactive barrier has grown rapidly and at present are 112. This study analyzes and compares such field applications. By using statistical analysis, especially ANOVA and principal component analysis, this study shows that chlorinated solvent contamination can be treated efficiently by using zero-valent iron material singly or associated with other technologies. In the analyzed sample of case studies, the association with microbial dechlorination increased significantly the performances of nanoscale iron. This is likely due to the synergistic effect between the two processes. Millimetric iron was always used in association with source zone containment; therefore, it is not possible to distinguish the contributions of the two techniques. The comparison also shows that catalyst addition seems to not dramatically improve treatment efficiency and that such improvement is not statistically significant. Finally, the injection technology is correlated to the type of iron and to the soil permeability.

Numerical prediction of diffusion and electric field-induced iron nanoparticle transport

“…Zero valent iron was used successfullyfor soil and groundwater remediation in permeable reactive barriersfor more than two decades [1][2][3]. With the development of advanced nanotechnologies since late nineties, due to their size and reactivity that allowed an easy injection,zero valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) were considered a promising step forward in soil and groundwater clean-up, particularly targeting organochlorines [4][5][6][7][8].…”

Testing the suitability of metallic iron for environmental remediation: Discoloration of methylene blue in column studies

“…A new method to correlate intrinsic reactivity and treatability efficiency of metallic iron ( Metallic iron (Fe 0 ) is a reactive material currently used for environmental remediation and safe drinking water provision [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Available Fe 0 materials are obtained from various sources [8][9][10][11][12] and are supposed to satisfy design expectations [7,[13][14][15][16][17].…”

Testing Metallic Iron Filtration Systems for Decentralized Water Treatment at Pilot Scale

“…Fe 0 is considered an appropriate material for water treatment because it is a relatively strong reducing agent (E 0 = −0.44 V) and was applied initially to transform recalcitrant halogenated organic compounds into less toxic and/or biodegradable species [55][56][57][58][59]. More recently, Fe 0 was demonstrated as highly effective for the treatment of several other classes of substances, including aromatic nitro compounds, bacteria, heavy metals, herbicides, nitrates, pesticides, radionuclides and viruses [18,[60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79]. Fe 0 materials have also been used in Fenton oxidation reactions [71,72,[80][81][82].…”