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Determining the degree of the reducing power of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and granular activated carbon (GAC) enables their effective application in various fields. In this study, we estimate the reducing power of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and GAC by measuring the reduction degree of various compounds with different reduction potentials. MWCNTs and GAC materials can reduce Cr(VI), Fe(III) and PMo12O403−, where the reduction potentials range from +1.33 V to +0.65 V. However, no reduced forms of PW12O403− and SiW12O404− compounds were detected, indicating that the reducing power of MWCNTs and GAC is insufficient for reduction potentials in the range +0.218 V to +0.054 V. MWCNTs exhibit a short reduction time (5 min), whereas GAC exhibits a gradually increasing reduction degree of all the compounds assessed until the end of the reaction. This indicates a higher reduction degree than that of MWCNTs systems. Acidic initial pH values favor reduction, and the reduction degree increases as the pH becomes lower than 4.0. Moreover, large quantities of MWCNTs and GAC increase the concentrations of the reduced compounds.

The natural attenuation potential of a vadose zone against diesel is critical for optimizing remedial actions and determining groundwater vulnerability to contamination. Here, diesel attenuation in unsaturated soils was systematically examined to develop a qualitative relationship between physical soil properties and the natural attenuation capacity of a vadose zone against diesel. The uniformity coefficient (C

This study demonstrated the application of biogenic sulfidated iron (B-FeS), produced via anaerobic digestion of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans using sulfate as the terminal electron acceptor, for peroxide activation. B-FeS was assessed against chemically prepared zerovalent and sulfidated iron (ferrous sulfide and pyrite) with respect to their ability to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) and H2O2. Regardless of the peroxide type, B-FeS outperformed benchmark iron activators in treating 4-chlorophenol due to its resistance to iron corrosion and the high content of reduced sulfur. The roles of oxidizing radicals were confirmed based on the effects of alcohol-based quenchers, multi-activity assessment, electron paramagnetic resonance spectral features, and product analysis. The pH-dependent efficiency of sulfoxide-to-sulfone conversion suggested that high-valent iron species acted as the secondary oxidant in all iron/peroxide systems, and the contribution was more pronounced when PDS and B-FeS were used. Microbial sulfidation as a catalyst regeneration strategy recovered the peroxide activation capacity of oxidized B-FeS.

Iron immobilized on supports such as silica, alumina, titanium oxide, and zeolite can activate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into strong oxidants. However, the role of the support and the nature of the ...

Identifying the cause of inconsistent landfarming efficacy is critical to designing optimal remedial strategies for petroleum-contaminated sites. We assessed contaminated soils collected from two former military bases in South Korea to better understand the role and influence of different factors. Landfarming remediation was simulated in the laboratory by applying comparable practices (such as tillage and bioaugmentation) and the relevant mechanism was examined. We then systematically examined potential factors affecting petroleum-removal efficacy, including the content of fine soil particles, the initial concentration and composition of petroleum contaminants, and the degree of soil-contaminant interaction. The distribution range of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and the size of unresolved complex mixture (UCM) found in gas chromatography data showed that petroleum composed of TPHs with lower carbon numbers and having smaller size of UCM could be treated more effectively by landfarming. Incorporating the evaluation of the distribution range and UCM properties of petroleum, rather than simply considering its total concentration, is a more accurate and efficient method for determining the site-specific suitability of landfarming as a remedial option, as well as for assessing the necessity of supplementary processes.

To investigate the impact of carbon phase conversion on the catalytic activity of nanodiamonds, in this study, we tested nanodiamonds subjected to graphitization at varying temperatures for persulfate activation. Temperatures beyond 1000°C (where only surface graphitization occurs) steadily enhanced the persulfate activation capability as the inner carbon underwent substantial sp3-to-sp2 transformation. Nanodiamonds annealed at 2000°C outperformed benchmark nanocarbons in terms of persulfate activation efficiency. Non-radical activation occurred primarily based on the effects of radical quenchers, oxidation product distribution, substrate-dependent reactivity, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra. Aligned with the density functional theory calculations of the binding energies of peroxydisulfate on the slab models, built via Bernal stacking of graphitic carbon layers on the diamond plane, isothermal titration calorimetry measurements suggested that the binding affinity of peroxydisulfate decreased as the sp2/sp3 ratio increased. Therefore, the enhancing effect of graphitization arose from the electrical conductivity of nanodiamonds, which increased proportionally with graphitization extent.

A new material was developed and evaluated for the targeted removal of trichlorophenol (TCP) from among potential interferents which are known to degrade removal activity. To achieve TCP-targeted activity, an alginate bead containing nanoscale palladium/zero-valent iron (Pd/nZVI) was coated with a highly hydrophobic oleic acid layer. The new material (Pd/nZVI-A-O) preferentially sorbed TCP from a mixture of chlorinated phenols into the oleic acid cover layer and subsequently dechlorinated it to phenol. The removal efficacy of TCP by Pd/nZVI-A-O was not affected by co-existing organic substances such as Suwannee River humic acid (SRHA), whereas the material without the oleic acid layer (Pd/nZVI-A) became less effective with increasing SRHA concentration. The inorganic substances nitrate and phosphate significantly reduced the reactivity of Pd/nZVI-A, however, Pd/nZVI-A-O showed similar TCP removal efficacies regardless of the initial inorganic ion concentrations. The influence of bicarbonate on the TCP removal efficacies of both Pd/nZVI-A and Pd/nZVI-A-O was not significant. The findings from this study suggest that Pd/nZVI-A-O, with its targeted, constant reactivity for TCP, would be effective for treating this contaminant in surface water or groundwater containing various competitive substrates.

To obtain the breakthrough curves without efforts required in the sampling and chemical analysis, a new soil column test device was developed. The device can conduct time-continuous electrical conductivity (EC) measurements without disturbing the soil matrix at all stages of the test. This device is composed of soil column, channel selector, LCR meter, and data logger. The soil column employs three 4-electrode sensors installed at different positions. To verify its applicability, the electrical conductivity breakthrough curves at different distances have been obtained with the use of five different species influent solutions (KCl, NaCl, CaCl2, MgCl2, and seawater). Results showed that the EC breakthrough curves and the transport parameters (the pore-water velocity, the dispersion coefficient, and the dispersivity) are very reasonable, and understand the one-dimensional steady flow exactly. The developed soil column test device proposed in this study provides a nondestructive, convenient, and inexpensive means of obtaining EC breakthrough curves.

Washing and drying processes are essential when synthesizing nano-scale zero valent irons (nZVIs) by borohydride reduction of iron salts in aqueous phase. However, effects of these processes on nZVI reactivity have not been investigated in detail, although different washing and drying conditions might alter surface characteristics of nZVIs and thus vary their reactivity towards reducible contaminants. In this study, effects of three washing solutions and drying conditions on the reactivity of nZVIs for nitrate were investigated. Washing with volatile solvents and drying under anaerobic condition decreased thickness of Fe-oxide layer on nZVIs and increased content of Fe(2+)-containing oxides in the layer, which enhanced nZVI reactivity toward nitrate. Volatile solvent washing could minimize the decrease in nZVI reactivity according to changing anaerobic drying condition to aerobic. Findings from this study suggest that application of washing with volatile solvents and drying under aerobic condition should be recommended as effective processes to obtain nZVIs with maximum reactivity at reasonable costs and efforts.

To verify the applicability of the time-continuous electrical conductivity (EC) measurement in analyzing the contaminant movement in the subsurface, a new column test device employing non-destructive four-electrode sensors was developed. Using the seawater to create a simple one-dimensional steady-flow condition, laboratory transport experiments were conducted and the EC breakthrough curves at different distances were obtained. Comparison between the EC breakthrough curves obtained from the EC sensors and those from the effluent solute chemical analysis showed that the estimated resident concentration from the EC breakthrough curves are useful in understanding solute transport in soils. The pore water velocity and longitudinal dispersion coefficient estimated using the computer code, CXTFIT, were found to be slightly underestimated, especially at sensors located at smaller distances from the outlet boundary. Results showed that the developed column test device employing the four-electrode sensors proposed in this study provides a non-destructive, convenient, and inexpensive means of evaluating the seawater transporting in soils.

Bentonite has been generally used as vertical cutoff barrier material and reported to have several problems regarding its low workability, drying shrinkage cracking by particle cohesion, and ineffective waterproof ability under sea water condition. In this study, the particle sealant, the furnace slag coated by the mixture of bentonite, sepiolite and guargum, was developed to compensate these weak points and the hydraulic conductivity of the particle sealant was evaluated. Drying shrinkage cracking and swelling index was estimated to find the optimal mixing ratio of bentonite, sepiolite and guargum. The hydraulic conductivity of the particle sealants having different amount of sealant (bentonite-sepioliteguargum mixture) coating the furnace slag was estimated using the rigid wall permeameter and flexible wall permeameter. The results showed that drying shrinkage cracking was not found in the bentonite-sepiolite mixture with 20% sepiolite contents and the results from free swelling tests for the sealant having 1 : 0.025, 1 : 0.05 and 1 : 0.075 of weight ratios of bentonite-sepiolite mixture and guargum under simulated sea water condition were higher than those for the bentonitesepiolite mixture without guargum under tap water condition. These three sealants were coated on the furnace slag with 50% and 60% of sealant in the particle sealant and the hydraulic conductivity was estimated. In the cases of the particle sealants having 20% sepiolite in the bentonite-sepiolite mixture and 1 : 0.075 weight ratio of the bentonite-sepiolite mixture and guargum, the hydraulic conductivity from the rigid wall permeameter was below cm/sec under simulated sea water condition. The hydraulic conductivity of the particle sealant having ~ cm/sec by the rigid wall permeameter was estimated using the flexible wall permeameter and found to be below cm/sec.

Two kinds of natural zeolite, Korea Pohang clinoptilolite (PC) and Japan Haruna chabazite (HC) were modified by hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA) and used to remove chromate from water. The structures of HDTMA-zeolites were characterized by FTIR and XRD. The effects of contact time, initial Cr(VI) concentration, pH of solution, ionic strength and the coexisting ions on the chromate adsorption were evaluated. Our results show that Cr(VI) adsorption can reach equilibrium state very fast which can be described by pseudo-second order kinetic model. The Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of HDTMA-zeolites are significantly higher than that of PC and HC. In particular, the Cr(VI) removal of HDTMA-PC is optimized within a wide solution pH range of 3.0–11.0, while that of HDTMA-HC is very sensitive to pH value that it can only be optimized in a narrow pH range near 3.0; and HDTMA-HC shows a much higher Cr(VI) adsorption in comparison with HDTMA-PC and other HDTMA-chabazite. Meanwhile, ionic strength for solution has a significant effect on chromate removal for HDTMA-zeolites. The chromate removal is not affected by coexisting of chloride, nitrate, calcium and magnesium ions but is reduced in the presence of sulfate, bicarbonate and phosphate ions. Furthermore, HDTMA-zeolites can achieve high regeneration efficiency.

Adsorption of Cr(VI) on Pohang zeolite (PZ) and Haruna zeolite (HZ) modified with surfactant hexadecylpyridinium bromide (HDPB) was investigated by batch studies, X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. The results show that Cr(VI) adsorption on HDPB-zeolites have quick initial speed and adsorption kinetics follow pseudo-second order kinetic model within the initial adsorption stage. HDPB-zeolites have higher affinities toward chromate than that to natural zeolites, and particularly, HDPB-HZ exhibits the highest adsorption capacity in the all samples studied. Additionally, the adsorption of Cr(VI) on HDPB-PZ is almost constant in a wide pH range 3.0–11.0 of solution. In contrast, the Cr(VI)-uptake for HDPB-HZ strongly depends on the solution pH. The highest Cr(VI) adsorption on HDPB-HZ occurs in acidic solutions (pH 3.0–5.0) and the amount of sorbed Cr(VI) decreases rapidly with increasing pH. High solution ionic strength has a significant effect on chromate adsorption. The chromate adsorptions by HDPB-zeolites are not affected by coexisting chloride, nitrate, sulfate, and calcium as well as magnesium ions but are reduced drastically in the presence of bicarbonate and phosphate ions. Moreover, HDPB-zeolites can achieve high regeneration efficiency after using sodium carbonate extraction and hydrochloric acid. The analyses of XRD, FTIR and SEM reveal that HDPB cations are incorporated into the zeolite’s structure via ion-exchange and Van der Waals forces. It also suggests that anion exchange and electrostatic interaction are probably the main mechanisms that govern the Cr(VI) adsorption.

A new material was developed and evaluated for the targeted removal of trichlorophenol (TCP) from among potential interferents which are known to degrade removal activity. To achieve TCP-targeted activity, an alginate bead containing nanoscale palladium/zero-valent iron (Pd/nZVI) was coated with a highly hydrophobic oleic acid layer. The new material (Pd/nZVI-A-O) preferentially sorbed TCP from a mixture of chlorinated phenols into the oleic acid cover layer and subsequently dechlorinated it to phenol. The removal efficacy of TCP by Pd/nZVI-A-O was not affected by co-existing organic substances such as Suwannee River humic acid (SRHA), whereas the material without the oleic acid layer (Pd/nZVI-A) became less effective with increasing SRHA concentration. The inorganic substances nitrate and phosphate significantly reduced the reactivity of Pd/nZVI-A, however, Pd/nZVI-A-O showed similar TCP removal efficacies regardless of the initial inorganic ion concentrations. The influence of bicarbonate on the TCP removal efficacies of both Pd/nZVI-A and Pd/nZVI-A-O was not significant. The findings from this study suggest that Pd/nZVI-A-O, with its targeted, constant reactivity for TCP, would be effective for treating this contaminant in surface water or groundwater containing various competitive substrates.