Application of Iron Nanoparticles Synthesized by Green Tea for the Removal of Hexavalent Chromium in Column Tests

Nano zero valent iron particles (nZVI) are popular the last few years because of the numerous applications in remediation of a wide range of pollutants in contaminated soils and aquifers. The nZVI particles can be 10 1000 times more reactive than granular or micro-scale ZVI particles due to the small particle size, large specific surface area and high reactivity. An alternative green synthesis procedure was used for the production of nano zero valent iron particles (nZVI) using green tea (GT) extract, which is characterized by its high antioxidant content. Polyphenols in green tea extract possess double role in the synthesis of nZVI, because they not only reduce ferric cations, but also protect nZVI from oxidation and agglomeration as capping agents. The objective of current study was to simulate ata laboratory scale the attachment of GT-nZVI particles on soil material and study the effectiveness of attached nanoparticles for removing hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from contaminated groundwater flowing through the porous soil bed. Column tests were carried out with various flowrates in order to examine the effect of contact time between the attached on porous medium nZVI and the flow-through solution on Cr(VI) reduction. After the completion of column tests the soil material in each column was split in 5 vertical sections, which were further subjected to chemical analyses and leaching tests. According to the results of the study increasing the contact time favors the reduction and removal of Cr(VI) from the aqueous phase. The reductive precipitation of Cr can be described as a reaction that follows a pseudo-first order kinetic law, with rate constant equal to k = 0.0243 ± 0.0011 min−1. Leaching tests indicated that precipitated chromium is not soluble. In the examined soil material, the total amount of precipitated Cr was found to range between 280 and 890 mg/(kg soil), while soluble Cr was less than 1.4 mg/kg and most probably it was due to the presence of residual Cr(VI) solution in the porosity of soil.