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Enhanced degradation of ortho-nitrochlorobenzene by the combined system of zero-valent iron reduction and persulfate oxidation in soils

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Abstract

ortho-Nitrochlorobenzene (o-NCB) in soil poses significant health risks to human because of its persistence and high toxicity. The removal of o-NCB by both zero-valent iron (ZVI) and chemical oxidation (persulfate) was investigated by batch experiments. The o-NCB removal rate increases significantly from 15.1 to 97.3 % with an increase of iron dosage from 0.1 to 1.0 mmol g−1. The o-NCB removal rate increases with the decrease of the initial solution pH, and a removal efficiency of 90.3 % is obtained at an initial pH value of 6.8 in this combined system. It is found that temperature and soil moisture could also increase the o-NCB removal rate. The o-NCB degradation rate increases from 83.9 to 96.2 % and from 41.5 to 82.4 % with an increase of temperature (15 to 35 °C) and soil moisture (0.25 to 1.50 mL g−1), respectively. Compared to the persulfate oxidation system and ZVI system, the persulfate–iron system shows high o-NCB removal capacity. o-NCB removal rates of 41.5 and 62.4 % are obtained in both the persulfate oxidation system and the ZVI system, while the removal rate of o-NCB is 90.3 % in the persulfate–iron system.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu (No. SBE201370422).This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu (No.SBE201370422) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21377056).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Hai-bo Xu, Dao-yuan Zhao, Yu-jiao Li, Pei-ya Liu & Chang-xun Dong

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  1. Hai-bo Xu
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  2. Dao-yuan Zhao
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  3. Yu-jiao Li
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  4. Pei-ya Liu
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  5. Chang-xun Dong
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Correspondence to Chang-xun Dong.

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Responsible editor: Bingcai Pan

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Xu, Hb., Zhao, Dy., Li, Yj. et al. Enhanced degradation of ortho-nitrochlorobenzene by the combined system of zero-valent iron reduction and persulfate oxidation in soils. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 5132–5140 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2431-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2431-1

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