Mutual effect of U(VI) and phosphate on the reactivity of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) for their co-removal

Insight into the Enhanced Removal of U(VI) with Fe-Ni Bimetallic Particles Loaded on Biochar

This work develops Fe-Ni particles loaded on biochar (Fe-Ni/BC) to remove U(VI) efficiently. Fe-Ni bimetallic particles loaded on biochar (BC) can improve stability and reactivity, and the mesoporous structure of BC can effectively reduce Fe0 aggregation. The removal ability of Fe-Ni/BC is higher than that of Fe-Ni, BC, and Fe/BC. With the aid of kinetics and isotherms, the removal data were fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 ≥ 0.999) and Langmuir model (R2 ≥ 0.94). Meanwhile, Fe-Ni/BC exhibited the largest removal capacity of 250.78 mg/g for U(VI) at pH 5.0 and a temperature of 303 K. Removing uranium using Fe-Ni/BC was carried out in the following steps: First, U(VI) in the solution was sorbed onto the Fe-Ni/BC surface through chemical bonds. Second, Fe(II) and Fe0 contributed to the U(VI) reduction process. At the same time, Fe-Ni formed a primary cell and underwent electron transfer. Moreover, Ni0 adsorbed H2 generated by Fe0 corrosion, forming Ni-H to prevent agglomeration and reduce U(VI). The results indicate that Fe-Ni bimetallic particles loaded on biochar enhance the removal of U(VI) by sorption-reduction synergistic effect. This work offers valuable insights into the design of bimetallic nanomaterials for environmental remediation of U(VI) contamination.

Simultaneous removal of Cd(II) and phosphate by nanoscale zero-valent iron from solution: Co-sorption and implication of corrosion

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) has been extensively utilized in environmental remediation, but its reactivity in the presence of co-contaminants requires further investigation for effective application in complex environments. Here, we conducted batch removal experiments to systematically investigate the co-removal behaviors of Cd(II) and phosphate by nZVI. Results showed that nZVI can synergistically remove Cd(II) and phosphate in solution, with the removal efficiency of Cd(II) and phosphate in the binary system being approximately 2 and 5 times higher than those in the single system, respectively. Sequential removal experiments combined with characterization analysis revealed the co-sorption of Cd(II) and phosphate onto the corrosion product of nZVI mainly by forming the ternary complexes (≡Fe-P-Cd). The Fe(OH)2 formed as the initial nZVI corrosion product provides numerous active sites for immobilization of Cd(II) and phosphate. Such effective co-sorption of Fe(OH)2 inhibits its subsequent phase transformation to Fe3O4. Overall, our work sheds light on how nZVI, Cd(II), and phosphate interact in solution as well as highlights the influence of phase transformation on co-removal, which can broaden the potential applications of nZVI in the practical environment.

Unlocking the potential of surface modification with phosphate on ball milled zero-valent iron reactivity:Implications for radioactive metal ions removal

Numerous investigations have illuminated the profound impact of phosphate on the adsorption of uranium, however, the effect of phosphate-mediated surface modification on the reactivity of zero-valent iron (ZVI) remained enigmatic. In this study, a phosphate-modified ZVI (P-ZVIbm) was prepared with a facile ball milling strategy, and compared with ZVIbm, the U(VI) removal amount (435.2 mg/g) and efficiency (3.52×10-3 g·mg-1·min-1) of P-ZVIbm were disclosed nearly 2.0 and 54 times larger than those of ZVIbm respectively. The identification of products revealed that the adsorption mechanism dominated the removal process for ZVIbm, while the reactive modified layer strengthened both the adsorption pattern and reduction performance on P-ZVIbm. DFT calculation result demonstrated that the binding configuration shifted from bidentate binuclear to multidentate configuration, further shortening the Fe-U atomic distance. More importantly, the electron transferred is more accessible through the surface phosphate layer, and selectively donated to U(VI), accounting for the elevated reduction performance of P-ZVIbm. This investigation explicitly underscores the critical role of ZVI's surface microenvironment in the domain of radioactive metal ion mitigation and introduces a novel methodology to amplify the sequestration of U(VI) from aqueous environments.

nZVI-Based Nanomaterials Used for Phosphate Removal from Aquatic Systems

In the last decade, the application of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) has garnered great attention as an adsorbent due to its low cost, non-toxicity, high porosity, and BET-specific surface area. In particular, the immobilization of nZVI particles onto inorganic and organic substrates (nanocomposites) decreased its agglomeration, allowing them to be effective and achieve greater adsorption of pollutants than pristine nanoparticles (NPs). Although nZVI began to be used around 2004 to remove pollutants, there are no comprehensive review studies about phosphate removal from aquatic systems to date. For this reason, this study will show different types of nZVI, pristine nZVI, and its nanocomposites, that exist on the market, how factors such as pH solution, oxygen, temperature, doses of adsorbent, initial phosphate concentration, and interferents affect phosphate adsorption capacity, and mechanisms involved in phosphate removal. We determined that nanocomposites did not always have higher phosphate adsorption than pristine nZVI particles. Moreover, phosphate can be removed by nZVI-based nanoadsorbents through electrostatic attraction, ion exchange, chemisorption, reduction, complexation, hydrogen bonding, and precipitation mechanisms. Using the partition coefficient (PC) values, we found that sepiolite-nZVI is the most effective nanoadsorbent that exists to remove phosphate from aqueous systems. We suggest future studies need to quantify the PC values for nZVI-based nanoadsorbents as well as ought to investigate their phosphate removal efficiency under natural environmental conditions.

Phosphate enhanced uranium stable immobilization on biochar supported nano zero valent iron

Uranium (U) immobilization from wastewater by zero valent iron (ZVI) was widely concerned through reduction and surface adsorption. Releasing of U due to re-oxidation of U(IV) into U(VI) limited the application of ZVI in U decontamination. In this work, a kind of biochar supported nano zero valent iron (Fe/BC(900)) was obtained by carbothermal reduction of starch mixed with ferric nitrate at 900 °C. U immobilization behavior by Fe/BC(900) in the presence of phosphate (P) was investigated. The U immobilization reaction was adjusted by controlling the sequence of U, Fe/BC(900) and P. U immobilization efficiency was enhanced to 99.9% in the presence of P. Reaction sequence of U, Fe/BC(900) and P influenced the U immobilization efficiency, which followed the order of (U-P)+Fe/BC(900)>(U- Fe/BC(900))+P>U+Fe/BC(900)>(P-Fe/BC(900))+U. P and nZVI both contributed to enhancing U immobilization through precipitation of uranyl-P and reductive co-precipitate (U(IV)) in a wide pH range. The released Fe ions could precipitate with uranyl and phosphate. Consumption of P and nZVI in the (P-Fe/BC(900))+U system limited U immobilization ability. The precipitate is highly dependent on U, P and Fe elements. U desorption in (U-P)+Fe/BC(900) system was not observed with stability.

Simultaneous decontamination of multi-pollutants: A promising approach for water remediation

Water remediation techniques have been extensively investigated due to the increasing threats of soluble pollutants posed on the human health, ecology and sustainability. Confronted with the complex composition matrix of wastewater, the simultaneous elimination of coexisting multi-pollutants remains a great challenge due to their different physicochemical properties. By integrating multi-contaminants elimination processes into one unit operation, simultaneous decontamination attracted more and more attention under the consideration of versatile applications and economical benefits. In this review, the state-of-art simultaneous decontamination methods were systematically summarized as chemical precipitation, adsorption, photocatalysis, oxidation-reduction, biological removal and membrane filtration. Their applications, mechanisms, mutual interactions, sustainability and recyclability were outlined and discussed in detail. Finally, the prospects and opportunities for future research were proposed for further development of simultaneous decontamination. This work could provide guidelines for the design and fabrication of well-organized simultaneous decontaminating system.

Graphene oxide functionalized with nano hydroxyapatite for the efficient removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution

Water contamination caused by radionuclides is a major environmental issue. Uranium (U) belongs to the actinide group of elements. Hexavalent uranium (U(VI)) is radioactively and chemically harmful and highly mobile in the environment and wastewater stream. Therefore, developing highly efficient materials for minimizing the environmental impact of U(VI) is essential. To achieve this goal, we successfully synthesized a novel material, namely graphene oxide (GO)/hydroxyapatite (HAP), by directly assembling GO and HAP through a facile hydrothermal method, which exhibits effective U(VI) removal and immobilization. The GO/HAP composite has an outstanding sorption capacity for U(VI) (i.e., 373.00 mg/g) within 5 min at a pH of 3.0. The parameters from thermodynamic analysis indicated that the GO/HAP composite absorbed U(VI) through a process of spontaneous and exothermic adsorption. XPS, XRD, and FT-IR results revealed that the composite's phosphate group was mainly responsible for U(VI) retention and incorporation. The GO/HAP composite's enhanced U(VI) sorption capacity is most likely ascribed to the synergistic effect after functionalizing with nano HAP. The current findings may greatly facilitate the creation of rational design strategies to develop highly efficient materials that can treat radioactive wastewater.

Recent Advances in Magnetic Nanoparticles and Nanocomposites for the Remediation of Water Resources

Water resources are of extreme importance for both human society and the environment. However, human activity has increasingly resulted in the contamination of these resources with a wide range of materials that can prevent their use. Nanomaterials provide a possible means to reduce this contamination, but their removal from water after use may be difficult. The addition of a magnetic character to nanomaterials makes their retrieval after use much easier. The following review comprises a short survey of the most recent reports in this field. It comprises five sections, an introduction into the theme, reports on single magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic nanocomposites containing two of more nanomaterials, magnetic nanocomposites containing material of a biologic origin and finally, observations about the reported research with a view to future developments. This review should provide a snapshot of developments in what is a vibrant and fast-moving area of research.

Ascorbic Acid-Assisted Polyol Synthesis of Iron and Fe/GO, Fe/h-BN Composites for Pb2+ Removal from Wastewaters

Iron powders and Fe/graphene oxide and Fe/boron nitride composites were synthesized by means of a polyol synthesis method. The effect of NaOH/Fe and ascorbic acid/Fe ratios on the characteristics of synthesized products were evaluated. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption and Raman-spectroscopy. Ascorbic acid-assisted polyol synthesis resulted in the 10-fold decrease of the iron particles' size and almost 2-fold increase of lead removal efficiency. The deposition of iron on the surface of graphene oxide lead to the formation of small 20-30 nm sized particles as well as bigger 200-300 nm sized particles, while the reduction in presence of boron nitride resulted in the 100-200 nm sized particles. The difference is attributed to the surface state of graphene oxide and boron nitride. Adsorption properties of the obtained materials were studied in the process of Pb²⁺ ion removal from wastewater.