Transport and partitioning of functional aerosol nanoparticles for remediation of trichloroethylene

Effective in-situ remediation of contaminated groundwater plume requires the successful delivery of reactive iron particles through soil. This study reports the transport characteristics of nanoscale zerovalent iron particles that are encapsulated in porous silica submicron particles through a novel aerosol-assisted technology. These particles resist aggregation characteristics that are typical of nanoscale zerovalent iron, and are highly reactive. They can be transported through model soils (Ottawa sands) more efficiently than commercially available reactive nanoscale iron particle (RNIP). To explore the fate of particles in sands, macroscopic and microscopic methods were used. Glass burette columns in vertical and horizontal configurations were used to simulate in-situ injection and natural groundwater situations, respectively. In both cases, the composite particles elute readily while RNIP is trapped at the inlet of the column. Capillary experiments further prove that RNIP clogs the pores between sand grains due to rapid aggregation, but pore plugging does not occur for the composite particles. The partitioning characteristic of the particles was investigated by a novel capillary video microscopy technique. Our results again indicate that the iron/silica composite nanparticles preferentially accumulate and localize at the TCE/water interface, making dechlorination more efficient. Such particles with enhanced mobility hold promise in new technologies for in-situ ground water remediation.