Search Results (8)

Two pilot-scale desalination systems employing carbon modified nano-sized, zero valent metals (n-ZVMs) were manufactured and tested to determine (1) the degree to which high-salt water (20 to 130 mS) could be desalinated and (2) if this degree of desalination could be maintained throughout an extended treatment period. The two pilot systems (referred to as Generation 1 and Generation 2) consisted of parallel lines of four individual reactors in series, a settling tank and an activated carbon cell at the end of each reactor line. The system capacity was 300 gal in Generation 1 and 600 gal in Generation 2 with a total hydraulic residence time of 6 h per reactor line (one hour per cell/tank). A slurry of n-ZVMs manufactured from mixtures of ferrous sulfate and green or black tea extract was introduced in the first reactor on each line to yield approximately 5 to 45 g of nano metal per 100 L of influent salt water based on dosing experiments required to achieve maximum salt removal at each of the three influent salt contents used, 28 mS, 44 mS and 123 mS. Once dosing was set, continuous runs (14 days, 23 days and 9 days) were carried out. The results demonstrated that maximum removal occurred with 10 g/100 L of salt for the 30 mS salt solution, 16 g/100 L of salt for the 40 mS influent water and 40 g/100 L for the 130 mS influent. Salt removal (expressed as Na⁺ and Cl⁻ removed) approached 78% for the 30 mS influent and 41 mS influent, respectively, while removal for the highest concentration salt influent (130 mS) approached 81%. Continuous operation over the extended time-period showed no significant decrease in salt removal with a typical day to day variation of no more than 10%, suggesting that this approach to desalination could rapidly provide usable water from saline aquifers, seawater or even produced water. Full article

Recent advances in alternative water desalination technologies have become increasingly common, due in part to expanding water scarcity and the ability to deliver usable water without the high energy cost and advanced infrastructure required of traditional desalination technologies such as reverse osmosis (RO). One such emerging technology is iron-based desalination or the use of nano- (or micron-sized) metals (principally iron) to desalinate water. In this study, iron-based desalination was coupled with passive sulfate reduction technology (SRB) to partially treat saline irrigation water similar in composition to that encountered in the San Joaquin Valley, California, USA. Water scarcity, especially in the southwestern United States, is driving an effort to identify and use less expensive but effective desalination methods to allow the use of saline groundwater, seawater, and impounded saline agricultural drainage and runoff for crop growth. The system described here used a synthetic water mimicking a typical saline irrigation water; this was then routed through a sulfate-reducing bioreactor to remove the sulfate prior to entry into an N-ZVM reactor for removal of Na and Cl. Sulfate at high concentrations can inhibit Na and Cl removal in N-ZVM reactors. The results showed that the sulfate was reduced from 2500 mg/L to less than 250 mg/L in the bioreactor, which allowed the N-ZVM to reduce the Na and Cl by 50%. This allowed the conductivity to decrease from 9.2 mS to about 5 mS. Synthetic irrigation water without sulfate removal was only desalinated by about 10%. The observed change in conductivity, sodium, and chloride content allowed the discharged water to be used for irrigation of many field crops and some vegetables. This paper provides reactor development, manufacture, and performance information including recommendations for continued performance increases. Full article

Zero-valent metal (ZVMs)-based persulfate activation systems are extensively applied for the elimination of organic pollutants in aqueous environments. In this study, for the first time, zero-valent copper (ZVC) was employed as the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator for the efficient degradation of Orange G (OG). The physicochemical properties of ZVC were systematically characterized by FESEM, EDX, TEM, XRD and XPS measurements. Furthermore, the effects of catalyst loading, PMS dosage, OG concentration and inorganic anions on the ZVC/PMS system were, respectively, investigated and explicated. The formation of ^•OH and SO₄^•− in the system was verified by quenching experiments and then the possible reaction mechanism was proposed. This work can provide insight into water treatment technology based on ZVMs. Full article

Nitrate is a widespread water contaminant that can pose environmental and health risks. Various conventional techniques can be applied for the removal of nitrate from water and wastewater, such as biological denitrification, ion exchange, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis. Compared to traditional methods, the chemical denitrification through zero-valent metals offers various advantages, such as lower costs, simplicity of management, and high efficiencies. The most utilized material for chemical denitrification is zero-valent iron (ZVI). Aluminium (ZVA), magnesium (ZVM), copper (ZVC), and zinc (ZVZ) are alternative zero-valent metals that are studied for the removal of nitrate from water as well as from aqueous solutions. To the best of our knowledge, a comprehensive work on the use of the various zero-valent materials that are employed for the removal of nitrate is still missing. Therefore, in the present review, the most recent papers concerning the use of zero-valent materials for chemical denitrification were analysed. The studies that dealt with zero-valent iron were discussed by considering microscopic (mZVI) and nanoscopic (nZVI) forms. For each Fe⁰ form, the effects of the initial pH, the presence or absence of dissolved oxygen, the initial nitrate concentration, the temperature, and the dissolved ions on the nitrate removal process were separately evaluated. Finally, the different materials that were employed as support for the nanoparticles were examined. For the other zero-valent metals tested, a detailed description of the works present in the literature was carried out. A comparison of the various features that are related to each considered material was also made. Full article

The removal of nitrate from aqueous environments through zero-valent metallic elements is an attractive technique that has gained increasing interest in recent years. In comparison to other metallic elements, zero-valent magnesium (ZVM) has numerous beneficial aspects. Nevertheless, the use of Mg⁰ particles for nitrate reduction in column systems has not been investigated yet. To overcome the lack of research, in the present study, a wide experimental activity was carried out to develop a chemical denitrification process through ZVM in batch column equipment. Several tests were executed to evaluate the effects of recirculation hydraulic velocity, pH, Mg⁰ amount, N-NO₃⁻ initial concentration and temperature on the process performance. The results show that the process efficiency is positively influenced by the recirculation velocity increase. In particular, the optimal condition was detected with a value of 1 m/min. The process pH was identified as the main operating parameter. At pH 3, abatements higher than 86.6% were reached for every initial nitrate concentration tested. In these conditions, nitrogen gas was detected as the main reaction product. The pH increase up to values of 5 and 7 caused a drastic denitrification decline with observed efficiencies below 26%. At pH 3, the ratio (R_MN) between Mg⁰ and initial nitrate amount also plays a key role in the treatment performance. A characteristic value of about R_MN = 0.333 gMg⁰/mgN-NO₃⁻ was found with which it is possible to reach the maximum reaction rate. Unexpectedly, the process was negatively affected by the increase in temperature from 20 to 40 °C. At 20 °C, the material showed satisfactory denitrification efficiencies in subsequent reuse cycles. With the optimal R_MN ratio, removals up to 90% were detected by reusing the reactive material three times. By means of a kinetic analysis, a mathematical law able to describe the nitrate abatement curves was defined. Moreover, the relation between the observed kinetic constant and the operating parameters was recognized. Finally, the reaction pathways were proposed and the corrosion reaction products formed during the treatment were identified. Full article

The pollution of water by nitrates represents an important environmental and health issue. The development of sustainable technologies that are able to efficiently remove this contaminant is a key challenge in the field of wastewater treatment. Chemical denitrification by means of zero-valent metallic elements is an interesting method to reduce the oxidized forms of nitrogen. Compared to other metallic reactants, zero-valent magnesium (ZVM) has many profitable aspects, but its use for nitrate removal has scarcely been investigated. In the present work, several batch tests were conducted to examine the concurrent effects of pH, initial nitrate concentration and Mg⁰ quantity on process performance. The experimental results proved that at pH 3, for a given initial nitrate concentration, the dose of ZVM largely influences process efficiency. In particular, with a ratio between Mg⁰ and initial N-NO₃⁻ amount (Mg/N_Ni) of 0.33 g/mg, it is possible to obtain complete denitrification within 30 min. Beyond this ratio, no further improvement of treatment was observed. The experiments allowed us to identify the nitrogen forms produced during the treatment. Nitrogen gas was generally the main reaction product, but the trends of the different compounds (NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, NH₄⁺ and N₂) notably changed in response to the modification of operating parameters. Moreover, the results demonstrated that, in a highly acidic environment, when treating solutions with a low nitrate concentration, process performances are unsatisfactory even when using a high Mg/N_Ni ratio. By increasing the process pH to 5 and 7, a significant denitrification decline occurred. Furthermore, at these pH levels, the enhancement of nitrate concentration caused a progressive process deterioration. Through detailed analysis of experimental results, reactions kinetics and new mathematical equations, able to describe the trends of different nitrogen forms, have been defined. Moreover, reactions pathways have been proposed. Finally, the characterization of exhausted material allowed us to identify the corrosion products formed during the treatment. Full article

Sixteen static diffusion reactors containing n-ZVM (Fe⁰, Cu⁰, Al⁰) establish a common equilibrium redox (Eh-pH) trajectory which is directly linked to the aquifer pore volume, volume of injected n-ZVM, throughflow rate within the aquifer and time. The effect of NaCl and Ca-montmorillonite on the trajectory is considered. The trajectory can be directly linked to TDS (EC) and to the equilibrium removal of contaminants. In each example, the progressive oscillation between reduction and oxidation reactions (including Fenton reactions) creates the catalytic nuclei (and redox environment) required for the decomposition of organic pollutants and their reconstruction as simple alkanes and oxygenates. Full article

Socio-economic, climate and agricultural stress on water resources have resulted in increased global demand for water while at the same time the proportion of potential water resources which are adversely affected by sodification/salinisation, metals, nitrates, and organic chemicals has increased. Nano-zero-valent metal (n-ZVM) injection or placement in aquifers offers a potential partial solution. However, n-ZVM application results in a substantial reduction in aquifer permeability, which in turn can reduce the amount of water that can be abstracted from the aquifer. This study using static diffusion and continuous flow reactors containing n-ZVM and m-ZVM (ZVM filaments, filings and punchings) has established that the use of m-ZVM does not result in a reduction in aquifer permeability. The experimental results are used to design and model m-ZVM treatment programs for an aquifer (using recirculation or static diffusion). They also provide a predictive model for water quality associated with specific abstraction rates and infiltration/injection into an aquifer. The study demonstrates that m-ZVM treatment requires 1% of the weight required for n-ZVM treatment for a specific flow rate. It is observed that 1 t Fe⁰ will process 23,500 m³ of abstracted or infiltrating water. m-ZVM is able to remove >80% of nitrates from flowing water and adjust the water composition (by reduction) in an aquifer to optimize removal of nitrates, metals and organic compounds. The experiments demonstrate that ZVM treatment of an aquifer can be used to reduce groundwater salinity by 20 –> 45% and that an aquifer remediation program can be designed to desalinate an aquifer. Modeling indicates that widespread application of m-ZVM water treatment may reduce global socio-economic, climate and agricultural stress on water resources. The rate of oxygen formation during water reduction [by ZVM (Fe⁰, Al⁰ and Cu⁰)] controls aquifer permeability, the associated aquifer pH, aquifer Eh and the degree of water treatment that occurs. Full article