Evaluating iron remediation with limestone using spectral induced polarization and microscopic techniques

Author(s)
Na Hao, Jianshe Ye, Li Zhao, Meng Sun, Yuqing You, Chi Zhang, Junnan Cao, Yu Peng, Shuai Zhang, Liang-Tong Zhan, Yunmin Chen, Bate Bate
Abstract

Groundwater contamination with iron caused by mining and landfill activities has fueled the development of remediation strategies. Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) are commonly applied in subsurface remediation because of their high removal effect and low costs. Spectral induced polarization (SIP) technique has been approved for its nondestructive ability to monitor the geochemical processes in porous media. In this study, SIP technique was applied for monitoring iron remediation by limestone at column scale. The chemical analysis showed the pH of the porous fluid increased- attributed to the dissolution of limestone, which promoted the precipitation of iron. The precipitate phases included both gamma-FeOOH and Fe2O3 based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results. The micro computed tomography (CT) technique investigated the uneven distribution of the precipitates in the column, which indicated the existence of preferential flow. SIP signals revealed the quantity of the accumulated iron precipitates, which was proved by the chemical measurement and calculation. SIP signals also derived the time evolution of both the average precipitate size and size distribution, which elucidated the processes of precipitate crystal growth and aggregation during Fe flow-through. Above results suggest that SIP holds the promise of monitoring the engineering barrier performance. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Organisation(s)
Department of Meteorology and Geophysics
External organisation(s)
Zhejiang University (ZJU), Georgia Southern University, University of Kansas
Journal
Science of the Total Environment
Volume
800
No. of pages
13
ISSN
0048-9697
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149641
Publication date
12-2021
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
105906 Environmental geosciences
Keywords
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/1ab4a89a-7e02-4759-82dc-8914f4d9a660