New and effective multi-element alpha-hematite systems for reduction of trichloroethylene

The reactivity of different alpha-hematite (alpha-Fe203) systems for dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE) in the presence of Fe(II) and CaO was investigated. Initially different experiments were conducted to investigate the reactivity of pure and doped alpha-Fe203. It was found that the presence of elements such as Si, Cu, and Mn in alpha-Fe203 had a significant effect on TCE reduction potential of alpha-Fe203; however, the reduction potential was less than that of alpha-Fe203 (Bayferrox- 110 M, used in a previous study). Further studies were carried out and alpha-Fe203 was synthesized in a manner similar to that of Bayferrox-110 M. This synthetic alpha-Fe203 showed improved reactivity and was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics when used in TCE reduction experiments. The preliminary end products analysis showed that TCE degradation was probably via beta-elimination pathway. Detailed investigations ofa-Fe203 systems were carried out using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry. The results demonstrated that the TCE reduction capacity of alpha-Fe203 was strongly dependent on the other elements present in iron powder used to synthesize alpha-Fe203. It was suspected that these multi-elements in alpha-Fe203 helped to improve its conduction property. Current findings suggest that alpha-Fe203 not in the pure but combined with other elements could be thought as a potential system for TCE reduction.