Cation Effects on Chromium Removal in Permeable Reactive Walls
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 130, Issue 8
Abstract
Permeable reactive walls have proven to be successful in laboratory and pilot-scale field applications. However, the long-term efficacy of reactive permeable walls has not been established due to the novelty of the technology. Also, the impact of common groundwater ions such as calcium and magnesium (i.e., hardness) on permeable reactive walls is unknown. In theory, the ions may react competitively with chromium in solution and/or other materials on the surface of the zero-valent iron. The ions may also form precipitates that could clog the reactive zone over time, resulting in decreased contaminant removal and a shorter wall lifetime. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of common groundwater ions on permeable reactive walls. A range of calcium and magnesium concentrations was tested in laboratory columns to determine the effect of these ions on removal of a constant chromium concentration (100 mg/L). Results from the laboratory tests indicated that calcium and magnesium had a significant impact on chromium removal. The most dramatic effects were witnessed at hardness levels up to 140 mg/L as where zero-valent iron capacity was reduced by 45%.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Bennett, T. A. (1997). “An in situ reactive barrier for the treatment of hexavalent chromium and trichloroethylene in groundwater.” MS thesis, Univ. of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Blowes, D. W., Ptacek, C. J., Cherry, J. A., Gillham, R. W., and Robertson, W. D. (1995). “Passive remediation of groundwater using in situ treatment curtains.” Geoenvironment 2000, characterization, containment, remediation, and performance in environmental geotechnics, ASCE, New York, 1588–1607.
Blowes, D. W., Ptacek, C. J., and Jambor, J. L.(1997). “In-situ remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated groundwater using permeable reactive walls: laboratory studies.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 31(12), 3348–3357.
Buerge, I. J., and Hug, S. J.(1997). “Kinetics and pH dependence of chromium (VI) reduction by iron(II).” Environ. Sci. Technol., 31(5), 1426–1432.
Eary, L. E., and Rai, D.(1988). “Chromate removal from aqueous wastes by reduction with ferrous iron.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 22(8), 972–977.
Gillham, R. W., and O’Hannesin, S. F.(1994). “Enhanced degradation of halogenated aliphatics by zero-valent iron.” Ground Water, 32(6), 958–967.
Gould, J. P.(1982). “The kinetics of hexavalent chromium reduction by metallic iron.” Water Resour., 16(6), 871–877.
Holm, P. E., and Christensen, T. H. (1997). “Behavior of heavy metals in soil and groundwater.” Rep. Prepared for Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tech. Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
James, B. R.(1996). “The challenge of remediating chromium-contaminated soil.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 30(6), 248a–251a.
Locht, T., and Klingberg, J. V. (1998). “Reaktive vægge til remediering af grundvands forureninger med TCE og kromat: Kolonnestudier af kromatreduceringens effekter på nulvalent jern.” MS thesis, Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
Powell, R. M., Puls, R. W., Hightower, S. K., and Sabatini, D. A.(1995). “Coupled iron corrosion and chromate reduction: Mechanisms for subsurface remediation.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 29(8), 1913–1922.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 17, 2003
Accepted: Jun 18, 2003
Published online: Jul 15, 2004
Published in print: Aug 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.