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Updated: Dec 28, 2025

Development of Sulfidogenic Sludge from Marine Sediments and Trichloroethylene Reduction in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
Published on: October 15, 2015
Effects of co-existing nitrate on TCE removal by mZVI under different pollution load scenarios: Kinetics, electron
Jia Xin1, Shufen Fan1, Mengjiao Yuan1
1Key Lab of Marine Environmental Science and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Geological Engineering, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
Abstract:
Microscale zero-valent iron in situ reaction zone (mZVI-IRZ) has proved to be effective and efficient for the removal of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) from groundwater. However, nitrate (NO3-), which is ubiquitous in groundwater, affects the mZVI-based attenuation of CAHs in a complicated manner. Both the reaction rate constant (k) and electron efficiency (EE) of mZVI must be considered to comprehensively reflect the effects of NO3- on the short and long-term remediation performances of mZVI. Therefore, the influence of NO3- on trichloroethylene (TCE) removal under high-pollution-load (iron limited) and low-pollution-load (iron excess) conditions was investigated. Low concentrations of NO3- (10 and 50 mg N L-1) were found to enhance the TCE removal rate and efficiency, whereas high concentrations of NO3- (100 mg N L-1) inhibited the reaction. Although TCE removal was increased at low concentrations of NO3-, the EE of mZVI was dramatically decreased in the presence of NO3- at all concentration levels. Therefore, both the short-term TCE removal characteristics and the EE of mZVI should be considered when evaluating the long-term remediation effectiveness of mZVI-IRZ technology. The effects of NO3- on the TCE removal trends under high- and low-pollution-load scenarios were similar, but had different magnitudes. NO3- affected the TCE removal mainly by promoting mZVI corrosion, competing for electrons and affecting passivation product evolution. Our results provide guidance for the practical application of mZVI-IRZ technology.
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