Nitrate and ammonium ions removal from groundwater by a hybrid system of zero-valent iron combined with adsorbents

Min Kyu Ji, Won Bae Park, Moonis Ali Khan, Reda A I Abou-Shanab, Yongje Kim, Yunchul Cho, Jaeyoung Choi, Hocheol Song, Byong Hun Jeon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nitrate (NO 3 -) is a commonly found contaminant in groundwater and surface water. It has created a major water quality problem worldwide. The laboratory batch experiments were conducted to investigate the feasibility of HCl-treated zero-valent iron (Fe 0) combined with different adsorbents as hybrid systems for simultaneous removal of nitrate (NO 3 -) and ammonium (NH 4 +) ions from aqueous solution. The maximum NO 3 - removal in combined Fe 0-granular activated carbon (GAC), Fe 0-filtralite and Fe 0-sepiolite systems was 86, 96 and 99%, respectively, at 45 °C for 24 h reaction time. The NO 3 - removal rate increased with the increase in initial NO 3 - concentration. The NO 3 - removal efficiency by hybrid systems was in the order of sepiolite > filtralite > GAC. The NH 4 + produced during the denitrification process by Fe 0 was successfully removed by the adsorbents, with the removal efficiency in the order of GAC > sepiolite > filtralite. Results of the present study suggest that the use of a hybrid system could be a promising technology for achieving simultaneous removal of NO 3 - and NH 4 + ions from aqueous solution.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1153-1158
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Environmental Monitoring
Volume14
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2012

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