Improvement in Groundwater Resources Contaminated with Nitrate using Nano Zero Valent Iron/Nickel Particles

In this study, the in-situ application of nano zero valent Iron/Nickel particles for Nitrate removal in groundwater resources was investigated. First, nano-particles were produced and stabilized with starch. Second, it was employed in batch and continuous experiments, using transparent column and bench-scale models. Based on batch experiments, the reaction kinetics was consistent with the adsorption model by the order of 1 to 1.3. The variation of the kinetics order depends on pH and Nickel content. So that highest reactivity was observed for Iron nano particles with 3% of Nickel. Based on continuous experiments, a seepage velocity of 10 m/d yielded the maximum removal efficiency. Furthermore, Nitrate remediation in a continuous system was mostly influenced by seepage velocity, quantity and freshness of nano particles, and grain size of porous media. In the batch mode, the maximum Nitrate removal was 99% while in the continuous mode it did not exceed 70%.