Treatment of TCE-Contaminated Groundwater Using Fenton-Like Oxidation Activated with Basic Oxygen Furnace Slag

The industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) is among the ubiquitous chlorinated organic compounds found in groundwater contamination. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of applying basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag as the catalyst to enhance the Fenton-like oxidation to remediate TCE-contaminated groundwater. Results indicate that TCE oxidation via the Fenton-like process can be enhanced with the addition of BOF slag. Results from the X-ray powder diffraction analysis reveal that the major iron type of BOF slag/quartz sand media was iron oxyhydroxide (alpha-Fe2O3). Approximately 81% of TCE removal was observed (with initial TCE concentration of approximately 5 mg L-1), with the addition of 1,000 mg L-1 of H2O2 and 10 g L-1 of BOF slag. Results also show that TCE concentrations dropped from 5 to 1.1 mg L-1, and chloride concentrations increased from 0 to 2.7 mg L-1 after 60 min of reaction with the presence of H2O2 and BOF slag. This indicates that the depletion of TCE corresponded with the oxidation reactions and release of chloride ions very well in this study. Results demonstrate that the BOF slag can be used to supply catalysts continuously, and it can be installed in a permeable barrier system to enhance the Fenton-like process in situ.