Fe0/H2O Systems for Environmental Remediation: The Scientific History and Future Research Directions
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School of Earth Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Fo Cheng Xi Road 8, Nanjing 211100, China
2
Biosystems and Environmental Engineering Research Group, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box MP167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
3
Department of Applied Geology, Universität Göttingen, Goldschmidtstraße 3, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Water 2018, 10(12), 1739; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10121739
Received: 27 October 2018 / Revised: 23 November 2018 / Accepted: 23 November 2018 / Published: 27 November 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Filters in Drinking Water Treatment)
Abstract
Elemental iron (Fe0) has been widely used in groundwater/soil remediation, safe drinking water provision, and wastewater treatment. It is still mostly reported that a surface-mediated reductive transformation (direct reduction) is a dominant decontamination mechanism. Thus, the expressions “contaminant removal” and “contaminant reduction” are interchangeably used in the literature for reducible species (contaminants). This contribution reviews the scientific literature leading to the advent of the Fe0 technology and shows clearly that reductive transformations in Fe0/H2O systems are mostly driven by secondary (FeII, H/H2) and tertiary/quaternary (e.g., Fe3O4, green rust) reducing agents. The incidence of this original mistake on the Fe0 technology and some consequences for its further development are discussed. It is shown, in particular, that characterizing the intrinsic reactivity of Fe0 materials should be the main focus of future research. View Full-Text
Graphical abstract
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MDPI and ACS Style
Hu, R.; Cui, X.; Gwenzi, W.; Wu, S.; Noubactep, C. Fe0/H2O Systems for Environmental Remediation: The Scientific History and Future Research Directions. Water 2018, 10, 1739.
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