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In this study, unique layered Fe(III)-Cr(III) oxides were formed during the Cr(VI) removal by sulfate green rust (GRSO4). Solid state characterization confirmed that the hexagonal plate and layered structure of GRSO4 remained after fast reduction of Cr(VI). Then, sodium dithionite was further employed to reduce the Fe(III) to Fe (II) in these layered Fe(III)-Cr(III) oxides, enabling stable Fe(II)/Fe(III) cycle in the hexagonal plates. As the Fe(II) content increased in the layered Fe(III)-Cr(III) oxides, there was no significant Fe(II) and Cr(III) release into the solution and the GR-like plate remained intact, indicating that this hexagonal layer Fe-Cr oxides has stable structure during the reduction of Fe(III). Interestingly, better crystallinity was observed at higher Fe(III) reduction rate, and the layered metal oxide structure was confirmed with a basal spacing of 0.935 nm when ~ 100 % of Fe(III) was reduced to Fe(II). Multiple treatment cycles experiment demonstrated that Cr(III) loading on the layered Fe(III)-Cr(III) oxides could be increased in the following 6 runs of Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox cycle. This study provides new evidence to confirm the electron conductivity and redox reactivity of the Fe(III)-Cr(III) residues under ambient condition, which might help to formulate novel strategies for elimination of Cr(VI) or related heavy metals, In this study, unique layered Fe(III)-Cr(III) oxides were formed during the Cr(VI) removal by sulfate green rust (GRSO4). Solid state characterization confirmed that the hexagonal plate and layered structure of GRSO4 remained after fast reduction of Cr(VI). Then, sodium dithionite was further employed to reduce the Fe(III) to Fe(II) in these layered Fe(III)-Cr(III) oxides, enabling stable Fe(II)/Fe(III) cycle in the hexagonal plates. As the Fe(II) content increased in the layered Fe(III)-Cr(III) oxides, there was no significant Fe(II) and Cr(III) release into the solution and the GR-like plate remained intact, indicating that this hexagonal layer Fe-Cr oxides has stable structure during the reduction of Fe(III). Interestingly, better crystallinity was observed at higher Fe(III) reduction rate, and the layered metal oxide structure was confirmed with a basal spacing of 0.935 nm when ∼ 100 % of Fe(III) was reduced to Fe(II). Multiple treatment cycles experiment demonstrated that Cr(III) loading on the layered Fe(III)-Cr(III) oxides could be increased in the following 6 runs of Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox cycle. This study provides new evidence to confirm the electron conductivity and redox reactivity of the Fe(III)-Cr(III) residues under ambient condition, which might help to formulate novel strategies for elimination of Cr(VI) or related heavy metals.

Green rusts (GRs) are redox active towards contaminants but they are not stable for long distance transport during the soil and groundwater remediation. In this study, green rust chloride (GR) was stabilized by selected regents, including silicate (Si), phosphate (P), fulvic acid (FA), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and bone char (BC), then these stabilized GR, collectively named GR-X, would be further applied for Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solution. The stabilization experiment demonstrated that the release of Fe(II) from GR was effectively suppressed by above reagents, enabling at least 50% lower Fe(II) leaching from the stabilized GR-X than that from the pristine GR. The intact hexagonal GR plates and crystallinity were also confirmed by the SEM images and XRD patterns after storage for 7 days, indicating the stable structure of GR-X was remained. In the Cr(VI) removal tests, Cr(VI) was eliminated by GR-X in seconds with a Fe(II) utilization efficiency over 90%. The Cr species examination demonstrated that the GR-X was able to transfer Cr(VI) into stable Cr(III)-Fe(III) precipitates (Fe-Mn oxides fraction). After Cr(VI) removal tests, all reactors were exposed to the air for 1 week to monitor pH fluctuation and evaluated the risk of acidification. The results indicate that, except for GR-Si system, the other postremediation systems are stable and the pH buffering ability of GR-X could avoid acidification and lower the Cr leaching risk. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biochars function as electron transfer mediators and thus catalyze redox transformations of environmental pollutants. A previous study has shown that bone char (BC) has high catalytic activity for reduction of chlorinated ethylenes using layered Fe(II)-Fe(III) hydroxide (green rust) as reductant. In the present study, we studied the rate of trichloroethylene (TCE) reduction by green rust in the presence of BCs obtained at pyrolysis temperatures (PTs) from 450 to 1050 C. The reactivity increased with PT, yielding a maximum pseudo-first-order rate constant (k) of 2.0 h-1 in the presence of BC pyrolyzed at 950 C, while no reaction was seen for BC pyrolyzed at 450 C. TCE sorption, specific surface area, extent of graphitization, carbon content, and aromaticity of the BCs also increased with PT. The electron-accepting capacity (EAC) of BC peaked at PT of 850 C, and EAC was linearly correlated with the sum of concentrations of quinoid, quaternary N, and pyridine-N-oxide groups measured by XPS. Moreover, no TCE reduction was seen with graphene nanoparticles and graphitized carbon black, which have high degrees of graphitization but low EAC values. Further analyses showed that TCE reduction rates are well correlated with the EAC and the C/H ratio (proxy of electrical conductivity) of the BCs, strongly indicating that both electron-accepting functional groups and electron-conducting domains are crucial for the BC catalytic reactivity. The present study delineates conditions for designing redox-reactive biochars to be used for remediation of sites contaminated with chlorinated solvents.