Degradation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) from explosive wastewater using nanoscale zero-valent iron

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Vol. 158; no. 3; pp. 566 - 570
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xin, Lin, Yu-man, Shan, Xaio-quan, Chen, Zu-liang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier B.V 15.04.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT); Applied sciences; Chemical engineering; Degradation; Exact sciences and technology; General purification processes; Infrared; Iron; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; Nanoscale zero-valent iron; Nanostructure; Pollution; TNT; Waste water; Wastewaters; Water treatment and pollution; Degradation; Nanoscale zero-valent iron; 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT); Zerovalent metal; X ray diffraction; Modeling; Waste water; Kinetic model; pH; Explosives; Kinetics; Aqueous solution; Spectrophotometry
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2010.01.054

The degradation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in wastewater using nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) was investigated. The results showed that >99% TNT was degraded when the initial TNT concentration was 80 mg L −1 after degradation for 3 h by 5 g L −1 of nZVI at pH 4, 40 °C using a rotary oscillation incubator operating at 200 rpm. The Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetics model fit the kinetics of TNT degradation by nZVI well. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry showed that TNT was adsorbed on the surface of nZVI, and this reduced TNT in aqueous solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrated that the surface of nZVI changed during the degradation of TNT.