• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.166-176
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• 2022

Banana peels are also widely used as bio-adsorbent in the removal of chemicals contaminants and heavy metals from water and soil. GC-MS plays an essential role in the phytochemical analysis and chemo taxonomic studies of medicinal plants containing biologically active components. Intrinsically, with the use of the flame ionization detector and the electron capture detector which have very high sensitivities, Gas chromatography can quantitatively determine materials present at very low concentrations and most important application is in pollution studies. In the present study banana peels were used as bio-adsorbent to remediate the heavy metal contaminated water taken from three different stations located around the industrial belts of Ranipet, Tamilnadu, India. The AAS analysis of the samples shows a decrement of chromium concentration of 98.93%, 96.16% and 96.5% in Station 1, 2 and 3 respectively which proves the efficiency of the powdered peels of Musa paradisiaca. The GC-MS analysis of the control and treated peels of Musa paradisiaca reveals the presence of phytochemicals like Acetic Acid, 1-Methylethyl Ester, DL-Glyceraldehyde Dimer, N-Hexadecanoic Acid, 3-Decyn-2-Ol, 26-Hydroxy, Cholesterol, Ergost-25-Ene-3,5,6,12-Tetrol, (3.Beta.,5.Alpha.,6.Beta.,12.Beta.)-, 1-Methylene-2b-Hydroxymethyl-3, and 3-Dimethyl-4b-(3-Methylbut-2-Enyl)-Cyclohexane in the control banana peels. The banana peels which were used for the treatment reveals the changes and alteration of the phytochemicals. It is concluded that the alteration in phytochemicals of the experimental banana peels were due to adsorption of chromium heavy metal from the sample.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2023

The advanced oxidation treatment using persulfate and zero-valent iron (ZVI) has been evaluated as a very effective technology for remediation of soil and groundwater contamination. However, the high rate of the initial reaction of persulfate with ZVI causes over-consumption of an injected persulfate, and the excessively generated active species show a low transfer rate to the target pollutant. In this study, ZVI was modified using selenium with very low reactivity in the water environment with the aim of controlling the persulfate activation rate by controlling the reactivity of ZVI. Selenium-modified ZVI (Se/ZVI) was confirmed to have a selenium coating on the surface through SEM/EDS analysis, and low reductive reactivity to trichlroethylene (TCE) was observed. As a result of inducing the persulfate activation using the synthesized Se/ZVI, the persulfated consumption rate was greatly reduced, and the decomposition rate of the model contaminant, anisole, was also reduced in proportion. However, the final decomposition efficiency was rather increased, which seems to be the result of preventing persulfate over-consumption. This is because the transfer efficiency of the active species (SO4-∙) of persulfate to the target contaminant has been improved. Selenium on the surface of Se/ZVI was not significantly dissolved even under oxidation conditions by persulfate, and most of it was present in the form of Se/ZVI. It was confirmed that the persulfate activation rate could be controlled by controlling the reactivity of ZVI, which could greatly contribute to the improvement of the persulfate oxidation efficiency.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.4C
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• pp.221-230
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• 2008

The George Massey immersed tunnel passes the Fraser River near Vancouver, Western Canada. The tunnel was founded on sandy soils and its behavior during earthquake was analyzed by an effective stress constitutive model called UBCSAND. This model is able to calculate pore pressure rise and resulting tunnel movements due to cyclic loading. Centrifuge tests conducted at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) were used to verify the model performance. The centrifuge tests consisted of 2 models: Model 1 was designed for an original ground condition, Model 2 for a ground improvement by densification. In Model 1, large deformation of the tunnel was observed due to liquefaction of surrounding soil. Because of the densified zones around the tunnel the vertical and horizontal displacements of the tunnel in Model 2 was 50% less than Model 1. Measured excess pore pressures, accelerations, and displacements from centrifuge tests were in close agreement with the predictions of UBCSAND model. Therefore, the model can be used to predict seismic behavior of immersed tunnels on sandy soils and optimize liquefaction remediation methods.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.1B
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• pp.91-96
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• 2009

Layered double hydroxide is synthesized and used in the arsenate adsorption experiments. The shapes of two materials analyzed by TEM showed that unheated material is amorphous in shape, micro-sized while heat treated material showed more crystallized in shape and nano-sized. X-ray diffraction showed this result more obvious. $N_2$ adsorption-desorption results showed that the materials are mesoporous and the specific surface area of the heated material is more than two times larger than the unheated material. Adsorption of As(V) is expected to be more in the heated material than the unheated material. Kinetic test of arsenate adsorption showed very fast reaction. The reactivity of Fe with As(V) might be the main factor for this result. The reaction kinetic of the heated and the unheated materials were similar and even the adsorption isotherms showed similar results for both materials. Both materials are found to be useful in remediation of soil and groundwater polluted by waste mine tailings consist of high concentration of As(V).

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.87-96
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• 2007

Risk assessment was carried out in order to improve the remediation and management strategy on a contaminated gunnery site, where a flood control reservoir is under construction nearby. Six chemicals, including explosive chemicals and heavy metals, which were suspected to possess risk to humans by leaching events from the site were the target pollutants for the assessment. A site-specific conceptual site model was constructed based on effective, reasonable exposure pathways to avoid any overestimation of the risk. Also, conservative default values were adapted to prevent underestimation of the risk when site-specific values were not available. The risks of the six contaminants were calculated by API's Decision Support System for Exposure and Risk Assessment with several assumptions. In the crater-formed-area(Ac), the non-carcinogenic risks(i.e., HI values) of TNT(Tri-Nitro-Toluene) and Cd were slightly larger than 1, and for RDX(Royal Demolition Explosives), over 50. The total non-carcinogenic risk of the whole gunnery range calculated to a significantly high value of 62.5. Carcinogenicity of Cd was estimated to be about $10^{-3}$, while that of Pb was about $5\;{\times}\;10^{-4}$, which greatly exceeded the generally acceptable carcinogenic risk level of $10^{-4}{\sim}10^{-6}$. The risk assessment results suggest that an immediate remediation practice for both carcinogens and non-carcinogens are required before the reservoir construction. However, for more accurate risk assessment, more specific estimations on condition shifts due to the construction of the reservoir are required, and more over, the effects of the pollutants to the ecosystem is also necessary to be evaluated.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.59-65
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• 2012

Solidification/Stabilization(S/S) is one of the remediation technologies that have been applied for treating inorganic hazardous wastes. This study investigated the reduction of arsenic concentration of arsenic-contaminated soil using by S/S. The binder plays a role in controlling the mobility and solubility of the contaminants in S/S process, so it is important to determine the optimum binder content. Therefore, this study evaluated the effectiveness of S/S using four different binders(cement, zero valent iron, and monosulfate and ettringite(cement-based synthesized materials) at the binder content ranged between 5%(wt.) and 20%(wt.). The leachability of arsenic in 1 N HCl was different depending on the types of binders: cement(71.41%) > monosulfate(47.45%) > ettringite(46.36%) > ZVI(33.08%) at the binder content of 20%. Additionally, three kinds of a mixture binder were prepared using cement and additives(monosulfate, ettringite, calcium sulfoaluminate(CSA)) and tested for arsenic reduction. The highest arsenic removal capacity was found at the mass ratio of cement to the additive, 4:1 in all experiments using a mixture binder, regardless of the additives types. A mixture binder(cement and additives) resulted in higher arsenic removal relative to the arsenic removal when cement was used alone.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.15-21
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• 2012

MTBE (Methyl tertiary-butyl ether) has been commonly used as an octane enhancer to replace tetraethyl lead in gasoline, because MTBE increases the efficiency of combustion and decreases the emission of carbon monoxide. However, MTBE has been found in groundwater from the fuel spills and leaks in the UST (Underground Storage Tank). Fenton's oxidation, an advanced oxidation catalyzed with ferrous iron, is successful in removing MTBE in groundwater. However, Fenton's oxidation requires the continuous addition of dissolved $Fe^{2+}$. Zero-valent iron is available as a source of catalytic ferrous iron of MFO (Modified Fenton's Oxidation) and has been studied for use in PRBs (Permeable Reactive Barriers) as a reactive material. Therefore, this study investigated the condition of optimization in MFO-PRBs using waste zero-valent iron (ZVI) with the waste steel scrap to treat MTBE contaminated groundwater. Batch tests were examined to find optimal molar ratio of MTBE : $H_2O_2$ on extent to degradation of MTBE in groundwater at pH 7 with 10% waste ZVI. As the results, the ratio of optimization of MTBE to hydrogen peroxide for MFO was determined to be 1:300[mM]. The column experiment was conducted to know applicability of MFO-PRBs for MTBE remediation in groundwater. As the results of column test, MTBE was removed 87% of the initial concentration during 120days of operational period. Interestingly, MTBE was degraded not only within waste ZVI column but also within sand column. It means the aquifer may affect continuously the MTBE contaminated groundwater after throughout the waste ZVI barrier. The residual products showed acetone, TBF (Tert-butyl formate) and TBA (Tert-butyl acetate) during this test. The results of the present study showed that the recycled materials can be effectively used for not only a source of catalytic ferrous iron but also a reactive material of the MFO-PRBs to remove MTBE in groundwater.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.54-61
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• 2008

Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) technology has been focused in contaminated groundwater remediation. It is necessary to select adequate reactive material according to characteristics of contaminant in groundwater. In this research, the reaction between reactive material and heavy metal contaminants was estimated through column test. Reactive material was slag, which has been produced in Gwangyang power plant, and heavy metal contaminants were cadmium, lead and copper. Column test was performed in the condition of 1) single and multi contaminated solution and 2) different initial concentration of cadmium. Retardation factor of cadmium is 3.94 in multi contamination. But that of copper is 40.3 in single and 25 in multi. The difference of retardation between cadmium and copper is due to affinity, resulted from the difference of electronegativity. In multi-contamination, copper effluent concentration was above initial copper concentration and at the same time lead effluent concentration was decreased. This phenomenon was considered that lead extract copper sorbed in slag and then lead was sorbed to the vacant sorption site instead. And as the initial concentration was increased, the retardation factor of cadmium became decreased.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.253-262
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• 2012

With the aim of remediating soils contaminated by heavy metals and oil, experimental research was conducted to evaluate the optimal design factors for remediation in terms of efficient soil washing methods and processes. The experiments employed absorptiometric analysis and gas chromatography methods to reduce the concentration of heavy metals such as cooper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn), and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in contaminated soils. The experimental processes consisted of deciding on the washing solution, washing time, and dilution ratio for contaminated soils. A dissolution analysis of heavy metals was then performed by the addition of surfactant, based on the results of the decision experiments, and the injection processes of microbes and hydrogen peroxide were selected. The experimental results revealed that reduction effects in contaminated soils under the experimental conditions were most efficient with hydrochloric acid 0.1 mole, washing time 1 hour, and dilution ratio 1:3, individually. Additional reduction effects for heavy metals and TPH were found with the addition of a washing solution of 1% of surfactant. The addition of microbes and hydrogen peroxide caused a reduction in TPH concentration.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.87-94
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• 2009

Surfactant-enhanced air sparging (SEAS) was developed to suppress the surface tension of groundwater prior to air sparging resulting in higher air saturation and larger contact area between NAPL and gas during air sparging. Larger contacting interface between NAPL and gas means faster mass transfer of contaminants from NAPL to gas phase. This new technique, however, is limited to relatively volatile contaminants because vaporization is its basic mechanism of mass transfer. In this study, SEAS was tested at an elevated temperature for a semi-volatile n-decane, which is expected not to be a good candidate of SEAS application due to its low vapor pressure at ambient temperature. Three sparging experiments were conducted using 1-dimensional column (5 cm id, 80 cm length) packed with sand; (1) ambient temperature ($23^{\circ}C$), column saturated with distilled water, (2) SEAS at ambient temperature ($23^{\circ}C$), for n-decane contaminated sand, (3) SEAS at elevated temperature ($73^{\circ}C$), for n-decane contaminated sand. Higher air saturation was achieved by SEAS compared to that by air sparging without surfactant application. The n-decane removal efficiency of SEAS at elevated temperature was significantly higher(> 10 times) than that of ambient SEAS. The n-decane concentrations in the gas effluent from column during SEAS at $73^{\circ}C$ are found to be 10 times of those measured at ambient temperature. Thus, SEAS technique can be applied for removal of semi-volatile contaminants provided that an appropriate technique for elevating aquifer temperature is available.