Redirecting Research on Fe⁰ for Environmental Remediation: The Search for Synergy

A survey of the literature on using metallic iron (Fe⁰) for environmental remediation suggests that the time is ripe to center research on the basic relationship between iron corrosion and contaminant removal. This communication identifies the main problem, which is based on the consideration that contaminant reductive transformation is the cathodic reaction of iron oxidative dissolution. Properly considering the inherent complexities of the Fe⁰/H₂O system will favor an appropriate research design that will enable more efficient and sustainable remediation systems. Successful applications of Fe⁰/H₂O systems require the collective consideration of progress achieved in understanding these systems. More efforts should be made to decipher the long-term kinetics of iron corrosion, so as to provide better approaches to accurately predict the performance of the next generation Fe⁰-based water treatment systems.