Modelling of sequential groundwater treatment with zero valent iron and granular activated carbon

Remediation of lead and cadmium from simulated groundwater in loess region in northwestern China using permeable reactive barrier filled with environmentally friendly mixed adsorbents

Permeable reactive barrier (PRB) is potentially effective for groundwater remediation, especially using environmentally friendly mixed fillers in representative areas, such as semi-arid loess region in northwestern China. The mixed materials, including corn straw (agricultural wastes), fly ash (industrial wastes), zeolite synthesized from fly ash (reutilized products), and iron-manganese nodule derived from loess (materials with regional characteristics) in northwestern China, were chosen as PRB media to reduce the contents of lead and cadmium in simulated groundwater. A series of lab-scale column experiments were investigated, and the response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the working process; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were applied to further reveal the reaction mechanism. It shows that the purification efficiencies are more acceptable when the concentrations of lead and cadmium are approximately 7 and 0.7 mg/L, respectively, at 25 °C in weakly acidic solution, and functional groups of -OH and C=C play an important role for contaminants removal. The mixed adsorbents used are effective to remove lead and cadmium in groundwater. This is the first report on the removal of lead and cadmium from groundwater in loess region in northwestern China using PRB filled with environmentally friendly mixed adsorbents.

Reactivity screening of microscale zerovalent irons and iron sulfides towards different CAHs under standardized experimental conditions

A standardized batch test procedure was developed and used to evaluate the reactivity of twelve newly designed microscale zerovalent iron (mZVI) particles and two biogenic iron sulfides towards a mixture of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) and their breakdown products. For comparison, commercially available mZVIs, nanoscale zerovalent irons (nZVIs), iron sulfides (FeS) and granular zerovalent iron were also tested. Reactivity of the particles was based on observed (kobs) and mass normalized (kM) pseudo-first-order degradation rate constants, as well as specific surface area normalized reaction rate constants (kSA). Sorption characteristics of the particles were based on mass balance data. Among the new mZVIs, significant differences in reactivity were observed and the most reactive particles were identified. Based on kM data, nZVI degraded the examined contaminants one to two orders of magnitude faster than the mZVIs. kM values for biogenic iron sulfides were similar to the least reactive mZVIs. On the other hand, comparison of kSA data revealed that the reactivity of some newly designed mZVIs was similar to highly reactive nZVIs, and even up to one order of magnitude higher. kSA values for biogenic iron sulfides were one to two orders of magnitude lower than those reported for reactive mZVIs.

Removal of some cationic dyes from aqueous solutions using magnetic-modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes

An adsorbent, magnetic-modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes, was used for removal of cationic dyes crystal violet (CV), thionine (Th), janus green B (JG), and methylene blue (MB) from water samples. Prepared nanoparticles were characterized by SEM, TEM, BET and XRD measurements. The prepared magnetic adsorbent can be well dispersed in the water and easily separated magnetically from the medium after loaded with adsorbate. The influences of parameters including initial pH, dosage of adsorbent and contact time have been investigated in order to find the optimum adsorption conditions. The optimum pH for removing of all the investigated cationic dyes from water solutions was found to be 7.0. The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir adsorption model. The maximum predicted adsorption capacities for CV, JG, Th and MB dyes were obtained as 227.7, 250.0, 36.4 and 48.1 mg g(-1), respectively. Desorption process of the adsorbed cationic dyes was also investigated using acetonitrile as the solvent. It was notable that both the adsorption and desorption of dyes were quite fast probably due to the absence of internal diffusion resistance.

Stabilization of a magnetic nano-adsorbent by extracted pectin to remove methylene blue from aqueous solution: a comparative studying between two kinds of cross-linked pectin

The removal of methylene blue (MB) as a cationic dye from aqueous solution by the stabilized Fe(3)O(4) nano-particles with the extracted pectin from apple waste (FN-PA) increased due to using the cross-linked forms of the bound pectin on the nano-particles surface by glutaraldehyde (FN-PAG) and adipic acid (FN-PAA) as the cross-linking agents. This increase happened in spite of binding some of the adsorbent functional groups of pectin with nano-particles. It can be due to the local concentrate of other free functional groups after connecting with nano-scale particles. Thermodynamic studies showed that the adsorption equilibrium constant and the maximum adsorption capacities increased with increasing temperature for all of the nano-bioparticles. The kinetic followed the second-order models with the highest rate constants viz. 16.23, 19.76 and 23.04 (× 10(-3)g/mg min) by FN-PAA. The adsorption force arrangement of MB by these nano-biosorbents regarding their activation energy was obtained as: FN-PAA>FN-PAG>FN-PA.

Activated carbons from flax shive and cotton gin waste as environmental adsorbents for the chlorinated hydrocarbon trichloroethylene

Agricultural by-products represent a considerable quantity of harvested commodity crops. The use of by-products as precursors for the production of widely used adsorbents, such as activated carbons, may impart a value-added component of the overall biomass harvested. Our objective in this paper is to show that flax shive and cotton gin waste can serve as a precursor for activated carbon that can be used for adsorption of trichloroethylene (TCE) from both the liquid and gas phases. Testing was conducted on carbon activated with phosphoric acid or steam. The results show that activated carbon made from flax shive performed better than select commercial activated carbons, especially at higher TCE concentrations. The activation method employed had little effect on TCE adsorption in gas or vapor phase studies but liquid phase studies suggested that steam activation is slightly better than phosphoric acid activation. As expected, the capacity for the activated carbons depended on the fluid phase equilibrium concentration. At a fluid concentration of 2 mg of TCE/L of fluid, the capacity of the steam activated carbon made from flax shive was similar at 64 and 80 mg TCE/g of carbon for the vapor and liquid phases, respectively. Preliminary cost estimates suggest that the production costs of such carbons are $1.50 to $8.90 per kg, depending on activation method and precursor material; steam activation was significantly less expensive than phosphoric acid activation.

Modelling the long-term performance of zero-valent iron using a spatio-temporal approach for iron aging

Zero-valent iron (ZVI) permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) have become popular for the degradation of chlorinated ethenes (CEs) in groundwater. However, a knowledge gap exists pertaining to the longevity of ZVI. The present investigation addresses this situation by suggesting a numerical simulation model that is intended to be used in conjunction with field or column tests in order to describe long-term ZVI performance at individual sites. As ZVI aging processes are not yet completely understood and are still subject to research, we propose a phenomenological modelling technique instead of a common process-based approach. We describe ZVI aging by parameters that characterise the extent and rate of ZVI reactivity change depending on the propagation of the precipitation front through ZVI. We approximate degradation of CEs by pseudo-first order kinetics accounting for the formation of partially dechlorinated products, and describe ZVI reactivity change by scaling the degradation rate constants. Three independent modelling studies were carried out to test the suitability of the conceptual and numerical model to describe the observations of accelerated column tests. All three tests indicated that ZVI reactivity declined with an increasing number of exchanged pore volumes. Measured and modelled concentrations showed good agreement, thereby proving that resolving spatial as well as temporal changes in ZVI reactivity is reasonable.