Iron Permeable Reactive Barrier for Removal of Lead from Contaminated Groundwater

Abstract

The possibility of using zero-valent iron as permeable reactive barrier in removing lead from a contaminated groundwater was investigated. In the batch tests, the effects of many parameters such as contact time between adsorbate and adsorbent (0-240 min), initial pH of the solution (4-8), sorbent dosage (1-12 g/100 mL), initial metal concentration (50-250 mg/L), and agitation speed (0-250 rpm) were studied. The results proved that the best values of these parameters achieve the maximum removal efficiency of Pb+2 (=97%) were 2 hr, 5, 5 g/100 mL, 50 mg/L and 200 rpm respectively. The sorption data of Pb+2 ions on the zero-valent iron have been performed well by Langmuir isotherm model in compared with Freundlich model under the studied conditions. Finite difference method and computer solutions (COMSOL) multiphysics 3.5a software based on finite element method were used to simulate the one-dimensional equilibrium transport of lead through sand aquifer with and without presence of barrier. The predicted and experimental results proved that the reactive barrier plays a potential role in the restriction of the contaminant plume migration and a reasonable agreement between these results was recognized.