and their application to reduce TCE in water

Zero-valent iron is well known for the reductive dechlorination of chlorinated organics such as trichloroethylene (TCE). The activity of iron for this reaction is greatly enhanced when iron is in the form of nanoparticles. However application of these nanoparticles in fixed-bed columns, in-situ reactive barriers and in similar flow-through applications is not possible due to extremely high pressure drop and their lack of durability and mechanical strength. Immobilization on a support seems to be a good method to solve the above problem. In this work, zero-valent iron nanoparticles produced in microemulsion are transferred to a polymer (Cellulose Acetate) support in the form of a porous membrane. Batch experiments with supported iron particles to reduce TCE (80ppm) have demonstrated a mass normalized initial rate constant of about 2.1h-1 per one gram of iron. The ability of these supported iron particles to reduce TCE was also confirmed by an increase in chloride ion concentration with time in the aqueous solution.