Simultaneous removal of selected oxidized contaminants in groundwater using a continuously stirred hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor

A laboratory trial was conducted for evaluating the capability of a continuously stirred hydrogen-based membrane biofllm reactor to simultaneously reduce nitrate （NO3--N）, sulfate （SO42-）, bromate （BrO3-）, hexavalent chromium （Cr（VI）） and para- chloronitrobenzene （p-CNB）. The reactor contained two bundles of hollow fiber membranes functioning as an autotrophic biofiim carder and hydrogen pipe as well. On the condition that hydrogen was supplied as electron donor and diffused into water through membrane pores, autohydrogenotrophic bacteria were capable of reducing contaminants to forms with lower toxicity. Reduction occurred within 1 day and removal fluxes for NO3--N, SO42-, BrO3-, Cr（VI）, and p-CNB reached 0.641, 2.396, 0.008, 0.016 and 0.031 g/（day.m2）, respectively after 112 days of continuous operation. Except for the fact that sulfate was 37% removed under high surface loading, the other four contaminants were reduced by over 95 %. The removal flux comparison between phases varying in surface loading and 1-12 pressure showed that decreasing surface loading or increasing 1-12 pressure would promote removal flux. Competition for electrons occurred among the five contaminants. Electron-equivalent flux analysis showed that the amount of utilized hydrogen was mainly controlled by NO3--N and SO42- reduction, which accounted for over 99% of the electron flux altogether. It also indicated the electron acceptor order, showing that nitrate was the most prior electron acceptor while sulfate was the second of the five contaminants.

Recycling of waste aluminum scraps to fabricate sulfidated zero-valent iron-aluminum particles for enhanced chromate removal

Massive waste aluminum scraps produced from the spent aluminum products have high electron capacity and can be recycled as an attractive alternative to materials based on zerovalent iron(Fe^(0))for the removal of oxidative contaminants from wastewater.This study thus proposed an approach to fabricate micron-sized sulfidated zero-valent iron-aluminum particles(S-Al^(0)@Fe^(0))with high reactivity,electron selectivity and capacity using recycled waste aluminum scraps.S-Al^(0)@Fe^(0)with a three-layer structure contained zero-valent aluminum(Al^(0))core,Fe^(0) middle layer and iron sulfide(FeS)shell.The rates of chromate(Cr(Ⅵ))removal by S-Al^(0)@Fe^(0)at pH 5.0-9.0 were 1.6-5.9 times greater than that by sulfidated zero-valent iron(S-Fe^(0)).The Cr(Ⅵ)removal capacity of S-Al^(0)@Fe^(0)was 8.2-,11.3-and 46.9-fold greater than those of S-Fe0,zero-valent iron-aluminum(Al^(0)-Fe^(0))and Fe^(0),respectively.The chemical cost of S-Al^(0)@Fe^(0) for the equivalent Cr(Ⅵ)removal was 78.5%lower than that of S-Fe^(0).Negligible release of soluble aluminum during the Cr(Ⅵ)removal was observed.The significant enhancement in the reactivity and capacity of S-Al^(0)@Fe^(0)was partially ascribed to the higher reactivity and electron density of the Al0core than Fe^(0).More importantly,S-Al^(0)@Fe^(0) served as an electric cell to harness the persistent and selective electron transfer from the Al^(0)-Fe^(0) core to Cr(Ⅵ)at the surface via coupling Fe^(0)-Fe^(2+)-Fe^(3+)redox cycles,resulting in a higher electron utilization efficiency.Therefore,S-Al^(0)@Fe^(0) fabricated using recycled waste aluminum scraps can be a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly alternative to S-Fe^(0) for the enhanced removal of oxidative contaminants in industrial wastewater.