scholarly journals Remediation of Lead and Nickel Contaminated Soil Using Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron (nZVI) Particles Synthesized Using Green Leaves: First Results

Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1453
Author(s):  
Nimita Francy ◽  
Subramanian Shanthakumar ◽  
Fulvia Chiampo ◽  
Yendaluru Raja Sekhar

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) particles have proved to be effective in the remediation of chlorinated compounds and heavy metals from contaminated soil. The present study aimed to analyze the performance of nanoparticles synthesized from low-cost biomass (green leaves) as chemical precursors, namely Azadirachta indica (neem) and Mentha longifolia (mint) leaves. These leaves were chosen because huge amounts of them are present in the region of Vellore. These nanoparticles were used to remove lead and nickel from contaminated soil. Characterization of nZVI particles was conducted using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller isotherm (BET) techniques. Remediation was performed on two different soil samples, polluted with lead or nickel at an initial metal concentration around 250 mg/kg of soil. The results revealed that after 30 days, the lead removal efficiency with 0.1 g of nZVI particles/kg of soil was 26.9% by particles synthesized using neem leaves and 62.3% by particles synthesized using mint leaves. Similarly, nickel removal efficiency with 0.1 g of particles/kg of soil was 33.2% and 50.6%, respectively, by particles using neem and mint leaves. When the nanoparticle concentration was doubled, Pb and Ni removal improved, with similar trends obtained at a lower dosage (0.1 g of particles/kg of soil). These first results evidenced that: (1) the nZVI particles synthesized using green leaves had the potential to remove Pb and Ni from contaminated soil; (2) the neem-derived particles gave better Ni removal efficiency than Pb one; (3) the mint-derived particles showed better Pb removal efficiency than Ni one; (4) the highest removal efficiency for both metals was achieved with the mint-derived particles; (5) double higher dosage did not greatly improve the results.

Author(s):  
Haiyan Song ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
Fansheng Meng ◽  
Qi Yang ◽  
Niandong Guo

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) has attracted considerable attention for its potential to sequestrate and immobilize heavy metals such as Cr(VI) from an aqueous solution. However, nZVI can be easily oxidized and agglomerate, which strongly affects the removal efficiency. In this study, graphene-based nZVI (nZVI/rGO) composites coupled with ultrasonic (US) pretreatment were studied to solve the above problems and conduct the experiments of Cr(VI) removal from an aqueous solution. SEM-EDS, BET, XRD, and XPS were performed to analyze the morphology and structures of the composites. The findings showed that the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) in 30 min was increased from 45.84% on nZVI to 78.01% on nZVI/rGO and the removal process performed coupled with ultrasonic pretreatment could greatly shorten the reaction time to 15 min. Influencing factors such as the initial pH, temperature, initial Cr(VI) concentration, and co-existing anions were studied. The results showed that the initial pH was a principal factor. The presence of HPO42−, NO3−, and Cl− had a strong inhibitory effect on this process, while the presence of SO42− promoted the reactivity of nZVI/rGO. Combined with the above results, the process of Cr(VI) removal in US-nZVI/rGO system consisted of two phases: (1) The initial stage is dominated by solution reaction. Cr(VI) was reduced in the solution by Fe2+ caused by ultrasonic cavitation. (2) In the following processes, adsorption, reduction, and coprecipitation coexisted. The addition of rGO enhanced electron transportability weakened the influence of passivation layers and improved the dispersion of nZVI particles. Ultrasonic cavitation caused pores and corrosion at the passivation layers and fresh Fe0 core was exposed, which improved the reactivity of the composites.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 736-750
Author(s):  
Xilu Chen ◽  
Xiaomin Li ◽  
Dandan Xu ◽  
Weichun Yang ◽  
Shaoyuan Bai

AbstractChromium (Cr) is a common toxic heavy metal that is widely used in all kinds of industries, causing a series of environmental problems. Nanoscale zero- valent iron (nZVI) is considered to be an ideal remediation material for contaminated soil, especially for heavy metal pollutants. As a material of low toxicity and good activity, nZVI has been widely applied in the in situ remediation of soil hexavalent chromium (Cr(vi)) with mobility and toxicity in recent years. In this paper, some current technologies for the preparation of nZVI are summarized and the remediation mechanism of Cr(vi)-contaminated soil is proposed. Five classified modified nZVI materials are introduced and their remediation processes in Cr(vi)-contaminated soil are summarized. Key factors affecting the remediation of Cr(vi)-contaminated soil by nZVI are studied. Interaction mechanisms between nZVI-based materials and Cr(vi) are explored. This study provides a comprehensive review of the nZVI materials for the remediation of Cr(vi)-contaminated soil, which is conducive to reducing soil pollution.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1417
Author(s):  
Min Zhuang ◽  
Wen Shi ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Liqiang Cui ◽  
Guixiang Quan ◽  
...  

The reactivity of nanoscale zero-valent iron is limited by surface passivation and particle agglomeration. Here, Ni/Fe bimetallic nanoparticles embedded into graphitized carbon (NiFe@GC) were prepared from Ni/Fe bimetallic complex through a carbothermal reduction treatment. The Ni/Fe nanoparticles were uniformly distributed in the GC matrix with controllable particle sizes, and NiFe@GC exhibited a larger specific surface area than unsupported nanoscale zero-valent iron/nickel (FeNi NPs). The XRD results revealed that Ni/Fe bimetallic nanoparticles embedded into graphitized carbon were protected from oxidization. The NiFe@GC performed excellently in 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) removal from an aqueous solution. The removal efficiency of TCP for NiFe@GC-50 was more than twice that of FeNi nanoparticles, and the removal efficiency of TCP increased from 78.5% to 94.1% when the Ni/Fe molar ratio increased from 0 to 50%. The removal efficiency of TCP by NiFe@GC-50 can maintain 76.8% after 10 days of aging, much higher than that of FeNi NPs (29.6%). The higher performance of NiFe@GC should be ascribed to the significant synergistic effect of the combination of NiFe bimetallic nanoparticles and GC. In the presence of Ni, atomic H* generated by zero-valent iron corrosion can accelerate TCP removal. The GC coated on the surface of Ni/Fe bimetallic nanoparticles can protect them from oxidation and deactivation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1153 ◽  
pp. 012077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Setia Budi ◽  
Yusmaniar ◽  
Increase Afida ◽  
Yuliana Dewi Anugerah ◽  
Amir Mahmud

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaoxia Zhao ◽  
Jie Yang ◽  
Yihan Wang ◽  
Bo Jiang

Well-dispersed nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) supported inside the pores of macroporous silica foams (MOSF) composites (Mx-NZVI) has been prepared as the Cr(VI) adsorbent by simply impregnating the MOSF matrix with ferric chloride, followed by the chemical reduction with NaHB4 in aqueous solution at ambient atmosphere. Through the support of MOSF, the reactivity and stability of NZVI are greatly improved. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results show that NZVI particles are spatially well-dispersed with a typical core-shell structure and supported inside MOSF matrix. The N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms demonstrate that the Mx-NZVI composites can maintain the macroporous structure of MOSF and exhibit a considerable high surface area (503 m2·g−1). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements confirm the core-shell structure of iron nanoparticles composed of a metallic Fe0 core and an Fe(II)/Fe(III) species shell. Batch experiments reveal that the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) can reach 100% when the solution contains 15.0 mg·L−1 of Cr(VI) at room temperature. In addition, the solution pH and the composites dosage can affect the removal efficiency of Cr(VI). The Langmuir isotherm is applicable to describe the removal process. The kinetic studies demonstrate that the removal of Cr(VI) is consistent with pseudo-second-order kinetic model.


Author(s):  
Adel Adly ◽  
Nagwan G. Mostafa ◽  
Abdelsalam Elawwad

Abstract This study investigated removal mechanisms, thermodynamics, and interferences of phosphorus adsorption onto nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI)/activated carbon composite. Activated carbon was successfully used as support for nZVI particles to overcome shortcomings of using nZVI include its tendency to aggregate and separation difficulties. A comprehensive characterization was done for the composite particles, which revealed a high specific surface area of 72.66 m2/g and an average particle size of 37 nm. Several adsorption isotherms and kinetic models have been applied to understand the removal mechanisms. Adsorption isotherm is best fitted by Freundlich and Langmuir models, which indicates that the estimated maximum phosphorus adsorption capacity is 53.76 mg/g at pH 4. Adsorption kinetics showed that the chemisorption process behaved according to a pseudo-second-order model. An adsorption mechanism study conducted using the intra-particle diffusion and Boyd kinetic models indicated that the adsorption rate is limited by surface diffusion. A thermodynamic study showed that phosphorus removal efficiency increased as the solution temperature increased from 15 to 37 °C. Finally, the results of an interference study showed that the presence of Ni2+, Cu2+, Ca2+, Na+ cations, nitrate ions (), and sodium acetate improves removal efficiency, while the presence of sulfate ions () and urea reduces removal efficiency.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document