A comparative study on the physicochemical properties, reactivity and long-term performance of sulfidized nanoscale zerovalent iron synthesized with different kinds of sulfur precursors and procedures in simulated groundwater

There are plentiful ways to synthesize sulfidized nanoscale zerovalent iron (S-nZVI), and this study investigated the influence of sulfur reagents (Na2S, Na2S2O3, Na2S2O4) and sulfidation sequence (co-sulfidation and postsulfidation method) on the physicochemical properties, reactivity, and long-term performance of S-nZVI in simulated groundwater. The results suggested that the co-sulfidized nZVI (S-nZVIco) has higher reactivity (-2fold) than S-nZVIpost due to the stronger electron transfer capacity, deriving from the higher content of Fe0 and reductive sulfur species. However, during aging, the reactivity of S-nZVIco would be lost more rapidly than SnZVIpost, due to the faster corrosion of Fe0 and more oxidation of reductive sulfur species. S-nZVIpost has the superior long-term performance with the degradation rate of trichloroethylene (TCE) remained at 30%-60% even after 90 d of aging. Sulfur precursors can control the selectivity of S-nZVI by affecting the sulfur speciation on the particle surface. The proportion of reductive sulfur species on S-nZVIpost synthesized by Na2S was higher than S-nZVIpost synthesized by Na2S2O3 or Na2S2O4, resulting in a higher selectivity of the former S-nZVIpost than the latter S-nZVIpost. In addition, sulfidation procedures and sulfur precursors did not affect the degradation pathway of TCE. Nevertheless, the degradation product distribution can be affected by the different physicochemical transformation of various types of S-nZVI with the aging time. These results indicated that sulfur reagents and sulfidation procedures have crucial effects on the reactivity and long-term performance of S-nZVI, which can be designed for the specific application scenarios.

Automated summary

This study investigated the influence of sulfur reagents and sulfidation sequence on the properties and performance of S-nZVI in simulated groundwater. The results showed that co-sulfidized S-nZVI had higher reactivity but lost it more rapidly during aging compared to post-sulfidized S-nZVI. S-nZVIpost exhibited superior long-term performance with a degradation rate of trichloroethylene (TCE) remaining at 30%-60% after 90 days of aging. The sulfur precursors affected the selectivity of S-nZVI, but not the degradation pathway of TCE.