skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Feasibility of amending slurry walls with zero-valent iron

Journal Article · · Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. State Univ. of New York, Buffalo, NY (United States). Dept. of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering
  2. Chopra Lee, Inc., Grand Island, NY (United States)
  3. S.S. Papadopulos and Associates, Bethesda, MD (United States)

Rapid degradation of aqueous trichloroethylene (TCE) was observed in batch experiments conducted with soil/bentonite slurry wall materials amended with the addition of zero-valent iron. The first-order TCE decay constants for soil/bentonite/iron mixtures, when normalized to the available iron surface area, were approximately 1--2 orders of magnitude higher than observed in batch experiments with pure iron systems. Permeability tests indicated an increase in SB hydraulic conductivity roughly proportional to the amount of iron added. Based on the observed reaction rates and the assumption of sustained long-term performance, significantly less than one percent added iron would be required to reduce the diffusive flux of TCE across an installed slurry wall by over 10 orders of magnitude. However, the release of hydrogen gas was noted as a potential problem for low permeability systems containing zero-valent iron.

OSTI ID:
350284
Journal Information:
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol. 125, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1999
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English