• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.81-85
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• 2015

A method for degradation of the perchlorate anion ($ClO{_4}^-$) has been studied using electrochemically generated zero-valent iron (ZVI) deposited on a porous carbon electrode. The first strategy of this study is to produce the ZVI via the electrochemical reduction of iron (II) on a porous carbon electrode coated with a conducting polymer, instead of employing expensive $NaBH_4$. The present method produced well distributed ZVI on conducting polymer (polypyrrole thin film) and increased surface area. ZVI surface can be regenerated easily for successive reduction. The second strategy is to apply a mild reducing condition (-0.3 V) to enhance the efficiency of the degradation of perchlorate with ZVI without the evolution of hydrogen. The electrochemically generated ZVI nanoparticles may offer an alternative means for the complete destruction perchlorate without evolution of hydrogen in water with high efficiency and at low cost.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1146-1153
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• 2008

Numerical simulation was carried out to study the trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation by permeable reactive barrier (PRB), and revealed the effect of concentration of TCE, iron medium mass, and concentration of iron-reducing bacteria (IRB). Newly developed model was based on axial dispersion reactor model with chemical and biological reaction terms and was implemented using MATLAB ver R2006A for the numerical solutions of dispersion, convection, and reactions over column length and elapsed time. The reaction terms include reactions of TCE degradation by zero-valent iron (ZVI, Fe$^0$) and ferrous iron (Fe$^{2+}$). TCE concentration in the column inlet was maintained as 10 mg/L. Equation for Fe$^0$ degradation includes only TCE reaction term, while one for Fe$^{2+}$ has chemical and biological reaction terms with TCE and IRB, respectively. Two coupled equations eventually modeled the change of TCE concentration in a column. At Fe$^0$ column, TCE degradation rate was found to be more than 99% from 60 hours to 235 hours, and declined to less than 1% in 1,365 hours. At the Fe$^{2+}$ and IRB mixed column, TCE degradation rate was equilibrated at 85.3% after 210 hours and kept it constant. These results imply that the ferrous iron produced by IRB has lowered the TCE degradation efficiency than ZVI but it can have higher longevity.http://kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/contents/ciConnReprerSearchPopup.kci#

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.117-126
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• 2015

Reductive degradation of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) by nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) was investigated to evaluate the feasibility of using it for in-situ groundwater remediation. Batch experiments were conducted to quantify the kinetics and efficiency of RDX removal by nZVI, and to determine the effects of pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and ionic strength on this process. Experimental results showed that the reduction of RDX by nZVI followed pseudo-first order kinetics with the observed rate constant (k_obs) in the range of 0.0056-0.0192 min⁻¹. Column tests were conducted to quantify the removal of RDX by nZVI under real groundwater conditions and evaluate the potential efficacy of nZVI for this purpose in real conditions. In column experiment, RDX removal capacity of nZVI was determined to be 82,500 mg/kg nZVI. pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), and DO concentration varied significantly during the column experiments; the occurrence of these changes suggests that monitoring these quantities may be useful in evaluation of the reactivity of nZVI, because the most critical mechanisms for RDX removal are based on the chemical reduction reactions. These results revealed that nZVI can significantly degrade RDX and that use of nZVI could be an effective method for in-situ remediation of RDX-contaminated groundwater.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.517-524
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• 2016

In order to treat groundwater containing high levels of nitrate, nitrate reduction by nano sized zero-valent iron (nZVI) was studied using batch experiments. Compared to nitrate removal efficiencies at different mass ratios of $nitrate/Fe^0$, the removal efficiency at the mass ratio of 0.02% was the highest(54.59%). To enhance nitrate removal efficiency, surface modification of nZVI was performed using metallic catalysis such as Pd, Ni and Cu. Nitrate removal efficiency by Cu-nZVI (at $catalyst/Fe^0$ mass ratio of 0.1%) was 66.34%. It showed that the removal efficiency of Cu-nZVI was greater than that of the other catalysts. The observed rate constant ($k_{obs}$) of nitrate reduction by Cu-nZVI was estimated to $0.7501min^{-1}$ at the Cu/Fe mass ratio of 0.1%. On the other hand, TEM images showed that the average particle sizes of synthetic nZVI and Cu-nZVI were 40~60 and 80~100 nm, respectively. The results imply that catalyst effects may be more important than particle size effects in the enhancement of nitrate reduction by nZVI.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.50-57
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• 2013

For the last couple of decades, the Fenton (-like) systems have been extensively studied for oxidation of organic contaminants in water. Recently, zero-valent iron (ZVI) has received attention as a Fenton catalyst as well as a reducing agent capable of producing reactive oxidants from oxygen. In this study, the ZVI-based Fenton reaction was assessed for the oxidative degradation of phenol using $ZVI/O_2$, $ZVI/H_2O_2$, ZVI/Oxalate/$O_2$ and hv/ZVI/Oxalate/$O_2$ systems. Reaction parameters such as pH and reagent dose (e.g., ZVI, $H_2O_2$, and oxalate) were examined. In the presence of oxalate (ZVI/Oxalate/$O_2$ and hv/ZVI/Oxalate/$O_2$ systems), the degradation of phenol was greatly enhanced at neutral pH values. It was found that ZVI accelerates the Fenton reaction by reducing Fe(III) into Fe(II). The conversion of Fe(III) into Fe(II) by ZVI was more stimulated at acidic pH than at near-neutral pH values.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.53-61
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• 2016

The reaction of zero-valent iron (ZVI) with oxygen can produce reactive oxidants capable of oxidizing organic compounds. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pre-treatment on sludge solubilization by ZVI and aeration. The results demonstrated that the aeration pre-treatment with ZVI method was more effective than the only aeration for improving sludge solubilization, indicating that ZVI increased the extent of sludge solubilization. In addition, removal rate of $NH_3-N$ by ZVI and aeration was found to be 34%, while only aeration was 24%. Thus, ZVI and aeration can be employed as an efficient pre-treatment option to achieve higher sludge solubilization and decrease the toxic effect of $NH_3-N$ for sludge digestion.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1074-1081
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• 2006

As common pollutants in surface and groundwater, nitrate nitrogen($NO_3-N$) and trichloroethylene(TCE) can be chemically and biologically reduced by zero valent iron(ZVI) and peat soil. In batch microcosm experiments, chemical reduction of TCE and nitrate was supported by hydrogen from ZVI. For biological degradation of TCE and denitrification peat soil was introduced. ZVI reduced TCE, while peat provided TCE sorption site and microbes performing biological degradation. Nitrate reduction was also achieved by hydrogen from ZVI. In addition, indirect evidence of denitrification was observed. More reduction of TCE and nitrate was achieved by ZVI+peat treatment however nitrated reduction was hindered in the presence of TCE in the system due to the competition for hydrogen. TCE reduction mechanism was more dependent on ZVI, while nitrate was peat-dependent. Hydrogen and methane concentration showed that peat had various anaerobic denitryfing and halorespiring bacteria.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.33-41
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• 2012

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) has recently received much attention for remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE). But there have been many debates on the toxic or inhibitory effects of nZVI on the environment. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of nZVI on the activity of Geobacter lovleyi and to determine the potent effect of combination of abiotic and biotic treatment of TCE dechlorination. TCE degradation efficiencies of Geobacter lovleyi along with nZVI were more increased than those when nZVI was solely used. The amount of total microbial protein was increased in the presence of nZVI and hydrogen evolved from nZVI was consumed as electron donor by Geobacter lovleyi. In addition, dechlorination of TCE to cis-DCE by Geobacter lovleyi along with nZVI in respiking of exogenous of TCE shows that the reactivity of Geobacter lovleyi was also maintained. These results suggest that the application of Geobacter lovleyi along with nZVI for the dehalorination is beneficial for the enhancement of TCE degradation rate and reactivity of Geobacter lovleyi.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.80-90
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• 2014

The laboratory and field studies were conducted to identify an optimal injection concentration of nanoscale zero-valent iron particles (NZVI) and to evaluate the applicability of NZVI-based reactive zone technology to the site contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) DNAPL (Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid). The laboratory test found an optimal injection concentration of NZVI of 5 g/L that could remove more than 95% of 0.15 mM TCE within 20 days. Eleven test wells were installed at the aquifer that was mainly composed of alluvial and weathered soils at a strong oxic condition with dissolved oxygen concentration of 3.50 mg/L and oxidation-reduction potential of 301 mV. NZVI of total 30 kg were successfully injected using a centrifugal pump. After 60 days from the NZVI injection, 86.2% of the TCE initially present in the groundwater was removed and the mass of TCE removed was 405 g. Nonchlorinated products such as ethane and ethene were detected in the groundwater samples. Based on the increased chloride ion concentration at the site, the mass of TCE removed was estimated to be 1.52 kg. This implied the presence of DNAPL TCE which contributed to a higher estimate of TCE removal than that based on the TCE concentration change.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.104-113
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• 2018

A three-dimensional electrochemical process using nanosized zero-valent iron (NZVI)/activated carbon (AC) particle electrode and persulfate (PS) was developed for oxidizing pollutants. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis were performed to characterize particle electrode. XRD and SEM-EDS analysis confirmed that NZVI was impregnated on the surface of AC. Compared with the conventional two-dimensional electrochemical process, the three-dimensional particle electrode process achieved three times higher efficiency in phenol removal. The system with current density of $5mA/cm^2$ exhibited the highest phenol removal efficiency among the systems employing 1, 5, and $10mA/cm^2$. The removal efficiency of phenol increased as the Fe contents in the particle electrode increased. The particle electrode achieved more than 70% of phenol removal until it was reused for three times. The sulfate radical played a predominant role in phenol removal according to the radical scavenging test.