Aminated electrospun nanofiber membrane as permeable reactive barrier material for effective in-situ Cr(VI) contaminated soil remediation

Electrokinetic remediation (EKR) combined permeable reactive barrier (PRB) is an emerging technique for the in-situ hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) heavy metal contaminated soil remediation. In the EKR-PRB technique, PRB materials with high Cr(VI) adsorption capacity and regenerability are severe desired. Here, a promising PRB material of aminated electrospun nanofiber membrane (ENFM) was synthesized by a facile short time thermal treatment of an hyperbranched polyethylenimine (HPEI)-enriched polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ENFM. The as-prepared PAN/HPEI ENFM exhibited a remarkable Cr(VI) adsorption capacity (similar to 206 mg g(-1)) and excellent reusability (> 9 cycles) owing to its amine group-rich membrane surface and interpenetrating porous structure. More importantly, a bench-scale Cr(VI) contaminated soil remediation test using a EKR-PRB technique showed that this PAN/HPEI ENFM could effectively immobilize and remove the Cr(VI) in soil.

Automated summary

In this study, aminated electrospun nanofiber membrane (ENFM) with high Cr(VI) adsorption capacity and regenerability was successfully synthesized and demonstrated to be effective in the remediation of Cr(VI) contaminated soil.