Abstract
Chloroform is an harmful chlorinated hydrocarbon which is hardly degraded using actual dechlorination methods. Alternatively, carboxymethyl cellulose/zero-valent iron appears promising to degrade chlorinated hydrocarbons in water, yet actually carboxymethyl cellulose cannot inhibit the oxidation and sedimentation of iron ions under alkaline condition. Here, polyethylene glycol, a green and low-cost non-ionic polymer, was used as a stabilizer to synthesize polyethylene glycol-stabilized Fe/Ni nanoparticles (PEG-Fe/Ni) for removing chloroform from water in a wide range of pH, from 3 to 11. PEG-Fe/Ni was prepared by a stepwise liquid-phase chemical reduction, then added into groundwater to remove chloroform. Results show that polyethylene glycol can both reduce the particle size from 106.9 to 79.6 nm and prevent the oxidation and sedimentation of iron ions under alkaline condition. The removal efficiency of chloroform increased from 86.3 to 100% at pH 6 in the presence of polyethylene glycol, and slightly decreased to 95.4% at pH 11. The calculated rate constant (k) indicates that chloroform removal follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. Furthermore, the PEG-Fe/Ni also removed chloroform from real groundwater at pH 8 with an efficiency of 90.1% in 4 h, which is higher than that for Fe/Ni nanoparticles, of 41.7%.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achu AL, Reghunath R, Thomas J (2020) Mapping of groundwater recharge potential zones and identification of suitable site-specific recharge mechanisms in a tropical river basin. Earth Syst Environ 4:131–145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-019-00138-5
Jin X, Li Q, Yang Q (2018) The reactivity of Fe/Ni colloid stabilized by carboxymethylcellulose (CMC-Fe/Ni) toward chloroform. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:21049–21057. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2030-2
Kadhem GM, Zubari WK (2020) Identifying optimal locations for artificial groundwater recharge by rainfall in the kingdom of Bahrain. Earth Syst Environ 4:551–566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-020-00178-2
Khan MA, Mahmood ur R, Ramzani PMA, Zubair M, Rasool B, Khan MK, Ahmed A, Khan SA, Turan V, Iqbal M (2020) Associative effects of lignin-derived biochar and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi applied to soil polluted from Pb-acid batteries effluents on barley grain safety. Sci Total Environ 710:136294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136294
Lee CL, Lee HY, Tseng KH, Hong PK, Jou CJG (2011) Enhanced dechlorination of chlorobenzene by microwave-induced zero-valent iron: particle effects and activation energy. Environ Chem Lett 9:355–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-010-0286-y
Liu MY, Huang RL, Li CX, Che MD, Su RX, Li SZ, Yu J, Qi W, He ZM (2019) Continuous rapid dechlorination of p-chlorophenol by Fe–Pd nanoparticles promoted by procyanidin. Chem Eng Sci 201:121–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2019.02.024
Masoud M (2020) Groundwater resources management of the shallow groundwater aquifer in the desert fringes of El Beheira governorate. Egypt Earth Syst Environ 4:147–165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-020-00148-8
Naeem I, Masood N, Turan V, Iqbal M (2021) Prospective usage of magnesium potassium phosphate cement combined with Bougainvillea alba derived biochar to reduce Pb bioavailability in soil and its uptake by Spinacia oleracea L. Ecotox Environ Safe 208:111723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111723
Nahin KTK, Basak R, Alam R (2020) Groundwater vulnerability assessment with DRASTIC index method in the salinity-affected southwest coastal region of Bangladesh: a case study in Bagerhat Sadar, Fakirhat and Rampal. Earth Syst Environ 4:183–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-019-00144-7
Nwankwo CB, Hoque MA, Islam MA, Dewan A (2020) Groundwater constituents and trace elements in the basement aquifers of Africa and sedimentary aquifers of Asia: medical hydrogeology of drinking water minerals and toxicants. Earth Syst Environ 4:369–384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-020-00151-z
Shahbaz AK, Ramzani PMA, Saeed R, Turan V, Iqbal M, Lewinska K, Abbas F, Saqib M, Tauqeer HM, Iqbal M, Fatima M, Rahman MU (2019) Effects of biochar and zeolite soil amendments with foliar proline spray on nickel immobilization, nutritional quality and nickel concentrations in wheat. Ecotox Environ Safe 173:182–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.02.025
Simeonidis K, Martinez-Boubeta C, Zamora-Perez P, Rivera-Gil P, Kaprara E, Kokkinos E, Mitrakas M (2019) Implementing nanoparticles for competitive drinking water purification. Environ Chem Lett 17:705–719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-018-00821-5
Tian HF, Liang Y, Zhu TL, Zeng X, Sun YF (2018) Surfactant-enhanced PEG-4000-NZVI for remediating trichloroethylene-contaminated soil. Chemosphere 195:585–593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.12.070
Turan V (2019) Confident performance of chitosan and pistachio shell biochar on reducing Ni bioavailability in soil and plant plus improved the soil enzymatic activities, antioxidant defense system and nutritional quality of lettuce. Ecotox Environ Safe 183:109594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109594
Turan V (2020) Potential of pistachio shell biochar and dicalcium phosphate combination to reduce Pb speciation in spinach, improved soil enzymatic activities, plant nutritional quality, and antioxidant defense system. Chemosphere 245:125611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125611
Turan V, Khan SA, Mahmood ur R, Iqbal M, Ramzani PMA, Fatima M (2018) Promoting the productivity and quality of brinjal aligned with heavy metals immobilization in a wastewater irrigated heavy metal polluted soil with biochar and chitosan. Ecotox Environ Safe 161:409–419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.05.082
Urgoitia G, SanMartin R, Teresa Herrero M, Dominguez E (2017) Efficient copper-free aerobic alkyne homocoupling in polyethylene glycol. Environ Chem Lett 15:157–164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-016-0596-9
Wan XF, Guo CB, Liu Y, Chai XS, Li YM, Chen GX (2018) Kinetic research on dechlorinating dichlorobenzene in aqueous system by nano-scale nickel/iron loaded with CMC/NFC hydrogel. Chemosphere 194:297–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.11.142
Wu HH, Wei WX, Xu CB, Meng Y, Bai W, Yang WJ, Jun LA (2020) Polyethylene glycol-stabilized nano zero-valent iron supported by biochar for highly efficient removal of Cr(VI). Ecotox Environ Safe 188:109902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109902
Xiong Z, Zhao DY, Pan G (2007) Rapid and complete destruction of perchlorate in water and ion-exchange brine using stabilized zero-valent iron nanoparticles. Water Res 41:3497–3505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2007.05.049
Zhang F, Zhu H (2009) Preparation and characterization of PEG-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles. J Magn Mater Device 40:27–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/smr.397
Zhao XD, Chen ZG, Che MD, Qiu S, Huang RL, Qi W, He ZM, He Z, Su RX (2020) Tannic acid enhances the removal of chloroform from water using NaOH-activated persulfate. Environ Chem Lett 18:1441–1446. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01016-7
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, China (20YFZCSN00650), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21621004, 21976132, and 21776212) and the Tianjin Development Program for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2018).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Si, H., Che, M., Chen, Z. et al. Efficient removal of chloroform in groundwater by polyethylene glycol-stabilized Fe/Ni nanoparticles. Environ Chem Lett 19, 3511–3515 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01228-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01228-5