CLU-IN Home

U.S. EPA Contaminated Site Cleanup Information (CLU-IN)


U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. EPA Technology Innovation and Field Services Division

Search Result

CONTROLLED DEPOSITION OF PARTICLES IN POROUS MEDIA FOR EFFECTIVE AQUIFER NANOREMEDIATION
Bianco, C., J.E. Patino Higuita, T. Tosco, A. Tiraferri, and R. Sethi.
Scientific Reports 7:12992(2017)

A model-assisted strategy was developed to control the distribution of colloids in porous media in the framework of iron oxide-based aquifer nanoremediation, in this case by the delivery of humic acid-stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles (FeOx), a typical reagent for in situ immobilization of heavy metals. The treatment strategy comprises tuned sequential injections of FeOx suspensions and solutions containing a destabilizing agent (calcium or magnesium) to develop two fronts that advance at different rates and overlap at the target location of the porous systems. In the target area the particles deposit and accumulate irreversibly, creating a reactive zone. An analytical expression predicting the position of the clustering zone in a 1D system was derived from first principles of advective-dispersive transport. Through this equation, the sequence and duration of the injection of the different solutions in the medium can be assessed. Successful application of the model to various systems comprising the use of different sands or immobilizing cations in 1D and 2D geometries demonstrated its robustness. This method has the potential to make nanoremediation a more effective alternative to conventional techniques. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-13423-y.pdf?origin=ppub



The Technology Innovation News Survey welcomes your comments and suggestions, as well as information about errors for correction. Please contact Michael Adam of the U.S. EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation at adam.michael@epa.gov or (703) 603-9915 with any comments, suggestions, or corrections.

Mention of non-EPA documents, presentations, or papers does not constitute a U.S. EPA endorsement of their contents, only an acknowledgment that they exist and may be relevant to the Technology Innovation News Survey audience.