[Experimental study on the remediation of chromium contaminated groundwater with PRB media]

Due to the surface reaction between zero-valent iron and Cr(VI), iron cannot be fully utilized in the Fe(0)-Permeable Reactive Barrier(PRB), and the PRB is prone to compaction and blockage. In order to resolve these problems, iron powder coated with different polymer was tested in the treatment of chromium-polluted groundwater. Experimental results demonstrated that sodium alginate (SA) was the best package materials. According to analysis with FEI and EDX, pore structures were created by cross-linking of SA with Ca2+, in which a lot of attaching points exist, and through which Cr(VI) could react with interior iron powder. SA coating cast iron (SAC) and reduced iron (SAR) were tested in the treatment of chromium-polluted groundwater individually; the results showed that the removal efficiency of Cr( VI) by SAC was double that by SAR. After optimization of technology parameters of SAC, the Cr(VI) removal process follows the pseudo first-order kinetics. Based on dynamic experiments with SAC, Cr(VI)/Fe(0) was up to 32.25 mg x g(-1) and the PRB maintained high permeability coefficient (2.38 cm x s(-1)) after complete reaction. Compared with cast iron media is feasible in the remediation of chromium contaminated groundwater.