Conventional remedial technologies of excavation/retrieval, treatment, and disposal methods for contaminated groundwater are expensive, disruptive for the hydrology of ecosystem, and are of low efficiency. Thus, because of these limitations, in situ technologies have been developed as alternatives.
For the treatment of groundwater contaminated with uranium pollutants such a treatment has been developed to minimize the mobility of the uranyle ion by transferring it to a stable phase via chemically or biologically induced formations. Zero valent iron reduction (ZVI) process has been known for years but has only recently been applied to clean up environmental contamination.
Not knowing the mechanism of the decontamination process, different forms of ZVI— materials have been synthesized for groundwater remediation, whereas important quantities of scrap iron from the steel industries are discharged or recycled all over the world. These include carbon steel, low alloy steel, cast iron and all other iron containing alloys. The objectives of this research were as follows:
1-the reduction of uranel ions by Fe° to form the sparingly soluble U species
2-UO22+ adsorption onto iron oxyhydroxide corrosion products: and
3-A combination of both reduction/precipitation and adsorption
ft is important to note that these subjects have been studied regarding to laboratories tests and column studies and also the effect of different parameters such as pH.
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