Investigating the Mechanism of Uranium Removal by Zerovalent Iron

Abstract

Zerovalent iron (ZVI) has been proposed as a reactive material in permeable in-situ walls for groundwater contaminated by metal pollutants. For such pollutants which interact with corrosion products, the determination of the actual mechanism of their removal is very important to predict the long-term stability of reactive walls. From a study of the effects of pyrite (FeS2) and manganese nodules (MnO2) on the uranium removal potential of a selected ZVI material, a test methodology (FeS2-MnO2-method) is suggested to follow the pathway of contaminant removal by ZVI materials. An interpretation of the removal potential of ZVI for uranium in presence of both additives corroborates coprecipitation with iron corrosion products as a major removal mechanism for uranium.