Abstract
Nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) has a promising application in the remediation of hexavalent chromium in aqueous environments, but its stability in the remediation environment has rarely been investigated. In this study, firstly, natural NZVI(N-NZVI) and sodium alginate–modified NZVI (S-NZVI) were used to reduce hexavalent chromium in water. The results revealed that S-NZVI showed the highest removal rate of Cr(VI) under the same conditions. Then, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the reduced solid product (Cr-NZVI), which proved to be composed of chromite, chromferide, maghemite, magnetite, hematite, and lepidocrocite. To evaluate the stability and associated risks of Cr-NZVI, this study also simulated the corrosive effects of Cr-NZVI under different environments. The results found that natural ageing (0–60 days) had only a minor effect on the stability of the reduced product. However, the structure of the reduction products may be damaged under strong acidic conditions and in the presence of large amounts of SiO32−, HPO42−, Al3+, Co2+, organic acids (humic acid (HA), citric acid (CA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), and oxalic acid (OA)) and H2O2. Organic acids showed significant effects (p < 0.001), especially 0.5 M CA dissolved 90% of the iron and 50% of the chromium in the reduction products. Thus, our results suggest that hexavalent chromium reduced with NZVI cannot be left without attention and that its stability in the environment and possible safety issues are of concern.
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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42267001) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi, China (No. 2020GXNSFAA297035).
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Xingle Chai: investigation, methodology, writing original draft
Xingzi Qin: conceptualization, validation, writing original draft
Xinyi Gu: investigation, methodology
Caiyuan Ling: writing—review & editing
Dintian Lu: Writing—review & editing
Chaolan Zhang: conceptualization, project administration, funding acquisition, supervision
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Chai, X., Qin, X., Gu, X. et al. Stability Mechanism of Hexavalent Chromium Reduction by Nano-zerovalent Iron Under Different Environments. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 617 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06606-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06606-z