Scherer, M.M, D.E. Latta, A. Neumann, D.M. Cwiertny, and R. Deeb. SERDP Project ER-2532, 111 pp, 2019

This project's primary objective was to evaluate whether magnetite and Fe-containing clay minerals reduced PCE and TCE alone and in the presence of ferrous iron (Fe(II)) or sulfide (S(-II)), evaluate pathways and factors controlling abiotic degradation of PCE and TCE by reactive minerals, and evaluate which aquifer properties might be used as indicators for abiotic natural attenuation rates in anoxic PCE and TCE plumes. Magnetite and reduced Fe-containing clay minerals alone did not reduce PCE and TCE under anoxic conditions. No reduction of PCE and TCE were observed when sulfide was added to magnetite and clay mineral suspensions. Both magnetite and Fe-containing clay minerals reduced PCE and TCE to acetylene in the presence of high concentrations of Fe(II). In both cases, analyses indicated a transient mineral phase formed suggesting that dynamic conditions and high Fe(II) concentrations that favor active precipitation of minerals could abiotically attenuate anoxic PCE and TCE plumes. https://www.serdp-estcp.org/content/download/50676/498031/file/ER-2532%20Final%20Report.pdf