Effects of nano-scale zero-valent iron particles on a mixed culture dechlorinating trichloroethylene.

Nano-scale zero-valent iron particles (NZVI) are increasingly being used to treat sites contaminated with chlorinated solvents. This study investigated the effect of NZVI on dechlorinating microorganisms that participate in the anaerobic bioremediation of such sites. NZVI can have a biostimulatory effect associated with water-derived cathodic H(2) production during its anaerobic corrosion (730+/-30 micromol H(2) was produced in 166 h in abiotic controls with 1 g/L NZVI) or an inhibitory effect upon contact with cell surfaces (assessed by transmission electron microscopy). Methanogens, which are known to compete for H(2) with dechlorinators, were significantly biostimulated by NZVI and methane production increased relative to NZVI-free controls from 58+/-5 to 275+/-2 micromol. In contrast, bacteria dechlorinating TCE were inhibited by NZVI, and the first-order degradation rate coefficient decreased from 0.115+/-0.005 h(-1) (R(2)=0.99) for controls to 0.053+/-0.003 h(-1) (R(2)=0.98) for treatments with 1 g/L NZVI. Ethene production from TCE was initially inhibited by NZVI, but after 331 h increased to levels observed for an NZVI-free system (7.6+/-0.3 micromol ethene produced in 502 h compared to 11.6+/-0.5 mmol in the NZVI-free system and 3.8+/-0.3 micromol ethene for NZVI alone). Apparently, cathodic H(2) was utilized as electron donor by dechlorinating bacteria, which recovered following the partial oxidation and presumably passivation of the NZVI. Overall, these results suggest that reductive treatment of chlorinated solvent sites with NZVI might be enhanced by the concurrent or subsequent participation of bacteria that exploit cathodic depolarization and reductive dechlorination as metabolic niches.

[Microbial reductive dechlorination of TCE with nano iron serving as electron donor].

A trichloroethylene (TCE) dechlorinating enrichment (Dehalococcoides spp.), which was isolated from soil of chlorinated ethene contaminated site, was used to investigate whether nano-scale zero valent iron (NZVI) could serve as electron donor for this consortium via cathodic H2 production during anaerobic corrosion. The results show that in the presence of methanol serving as electron donor, dechlorinating culture of 25 fold dilution [(2.0 +/- 0.44) x 10(5) cell/mL] degraded 20 mg/L TCE completely in 96 h, which was accompanied by the production of 2.706 micromol ethene in 190 h. Methanol-free control caused partial degradation of TCE to primarily cis-DCE in 96 h, with only 0.159 micromol ethene produced in 190 h. This indicates bacteria cannot reduce TCE to ethene without electron donor. But when 4 g/L NZVI was added as sole electron donor, this dechlorinating culture degraded 20 mg/L TCE into ethene and vinyl chloride (VC) in 131 h at a speed higher than that by NZVI alone. Compared to 2.706 micromol ethene produced by Dehalococcoides spp. with methanol added as the electron donor, there was only 1.187 micromol ethene produced by bacteria with NZVI serving as the electron donor, which means NZVI has a potential toxicity on Dehalococcoides spp.. At the meantime, 0.109 micromol acetylene was produced in 190 h, which was relatively lower than 0.161 micromol produced by NZVI alone, indicating bacteria competed with NZVI under electron deficient condition. In conclusion, NZVI could serve as electron donor and support dechlorination activity for Dehalococcoides spp. which could enhance the application of NZVI and usage of dechlorinating culture as a polishing strategy in future ground water remediation.

[Preparation of coated iron nanoparticles for reduction of trichloroethylene].

Nanoscale alpha-Fe particles with size of about 80 nm were prepared with a microemulsion-coated method. The results demonstrated that this kind of iron particles could exist stably in the air for 7 d compared with nanoscale iron particles prepared by liquid-phase and microemulsion methods. The removal rate of trichloroethylene with an initial concentration of 10 mg x L(-1) can reach 90% in 700 h. The reduction kinetics was studied under room temperature, neutral, and anaerobic conditions. Experiments show that the reduction process of TCE by nanoscale iron particles conforms to pseudo first order reaction law. The apparent rate constant (k(obs)) is proportional to concentration of nanoscale iron particles. The k(obs), values 6.49 x 10(-40, 6.64 x 10(-4), 7.10 x 10(-4), 7.43 x 10(-4) min(-1), are corresponding to concentrations of 87.5, 175, 262.5, 350 mg x L(-1) respectively. In the reaction, nanoscale iron particles provides electrons and forms an inner film of Fe3O4, on the surface of which an outer film of Fe2O3 is formed together with water. TCE is degraded by electrons. The principal degradation products were ethene and ethane, and smaller amounts of other chlorinated degradation products were also founded.

Preparation of spherical iron nanoclusters in ethanol-water solution for nitrate removal.

In this study, a higher surface area spherical nanoscale zero valent iron (HNZVI) cluster (80 nm, 54.25 m(2)g(-1)) was synthesized in ethanol-water mixed solvent in the presence of dispersion agent of polyglycol (PEG). At the same time, a lower surface area nanoscale zero valent iron (LNZVI) particle (80 nm, 8.08 m(2)g(-1)) was also prepared with only de-ioned water as reaction media. Their structures, compositions and physical properties were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrophotometer (ICP-AES), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analyzer and the results obtained for these two kinds of nanoscale iron were compared with each other and also with those reported in the literatures. The HNZVI clusters seemed to be accumulated by smaller iron particles (<10 nm). At the same time, whiskers were formed in the final produce. Reactivity of the HNZVI was affirmed via denitrification of nitrate. The factors controlling the reduction of nitrate, such as pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), iron content as well as the initial nitrate concentration were also discussed. Finally, kinetic analysis revealed that chemical reduction of nitrate by HNZVI could not be described by the first- or pseudo-first-order kinetic model.