Investigating the mechanism of uranium removal by zerovalent iron

Zerovalent iron (ZVI) has been proposed as a reactive material in permeable in situ walls for groundwater contaminated by metal pollutants. For such pollutants that interact with corrosion products, the determination of the actual mechanism of their removal is very important to predict their stability in the long term. From a study of the effects of pyrite (FeS2) and manganese nodules (MnO2) on the uranium removal potential of a selected ZVI material, a test methodology (FeS2-MnO2 method) is suggested to follow the pathway of contaminant removal by ZVI materials. An interpretation of the removal potential of ZVI for uranium in the presence of both additives corroborates coprecipitation with iron corrosion products as the initial removal mechanism for uranium.