Environmental Remediation and Application of Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron and Its Composites for the Removal of Heavy Metal Ions: A Review

Abstract

The presence of heavy metals in the industrial effluents has recently been a challenging issue for human health. Efficient removal of heavy metal ions from environment is one of the most important issues from biological and environmental point of view, and many studies have been devoted to investigate the environmental behavior of nanoscale zerovalent iron (NZVI) for the removal of toxic heavy metal ions, present both in the surface and underground wastewater. The aim of this review is to show the excellent removal capacity and environmental remediation of NZVI-based materials for various heavy metal ions. A new look on NZVI-based materials (e.g., modified or matrix-supported NZVI materials) and possible interaction mechanism (e.g., adsorption, reduction and oxidation) and the latest environmental application. The effects of various environmental conditions (e.g., pH, temperature, coexisting oxy-anions and cations) and potential problems for the removal of heavy metal ions on NZVI-based materials with the DFT theoretical calculations and EXAFS technology are discussed. Research shows that NZVI-based materials have satisfactory removal capacities for heavy metal ions and play an important role in the environmental pollution cleanup. Possible improvement of NZVI-based materials and potential areas for future applications in environment remediation are also proposed.

Making Fe0-Based Filters a Universal Solution for Safe Drinking Water Provision

“…However, advice and knowledge transfer can be acquired in collaboration with other groups, including scientific ones. Considering the significant advancements made in research on 'Fe 0 for environmental remediation and water treatment' over the past three decades [26][27][28][29][30]52,76,116,146,[222][223][224][225][226][227][228][229] as the cornerstone for a universal sustainable solution to a long-lasting crisis, the universal provision of safe drinking water is no longer an 'elusive goal' [7]; Fe 0 filtration provides a solution, specifically for the developing world [229,230].…”

Well-Dispersed Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron Supported in Macroporous Silica Foams: Synthesis, Characterization, and Performance in Cr(VI) Removal

“…NZVI nanoparticles possess a typical core-shell structure, in which the shell thickness is less than 10 nm, similar to the previous observations. The core is mainly made up of Fe 0 and the shell could result from the inevitable oxidation of zero-valent iron [22,44,45]. Figure 3(d) is a typical high resolution TEM image of NZVI particles supported by MOSF, where the (200) lattice fringes of Fe 0 can be clearly observed in the NZVI.…”

Optimization of Cyan flexo dye removal by nano zero-valent ironusing response surface methodology

“…This environmentally friendly, so-called ''green'' nZVI synthesis method uses natural plant extracts where the active substances, such as polyphenol are highly reductive compounds. The obtained extracts have high reductive capacities and assure the reduction of iron(III)/(II), producing nZVI particles (Saif et al, 2016;Zou et al, 2016). In this work, oak leaves were used to produce nZVI particles, and the extraction procedure is explained more detailed in experimental part.…”