HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Related articles in JEQ Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (31) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Huang, Y. H. Articles by Comfort, S. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Huang, Y. H. Articles by Comfort, S. D. GeoRef GeoRef Citation Agricola Articles by Huang, Y. H. Articles by Comfort, S. D. Related Collections Water Quality Nitrogen Remediation Other Environmental Contamination Water Pollution

TECHNICAL REPORTS
Ground Water Quality

Effects of Oxide Coating and Selected Cations on Nitrate Reduction by Iron Metal

^a Civil Engineering Dep., Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, Omaha Campus, Omaha, NE 68182-0178
^b School of Natural Resource Sciences, 309 Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0728

^* Corresponding author (tzhang{at}unomaha.edu)

Received for publication June 11, 2002. Under anoxic conditions, zerovalent iron (Fe⁰) reduces nitrate to ammonium and magnetite (Fe₃O₄) is produced at near-neutral pH. Nitrate removal was most rapid at low pH (2–4); however, the formation of a black oxide film at pH 5 to 8 temporarily halted or slowed the reaction unless the system was augmented with Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺, or Al³⁺. Bathing the corroding Fe⁰ in a Fe²⁺ solution greatly enhanced nitrate reduction at near-neutral pH and coincided with the formation of a black precipitate. X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy confirmed that both the black precipitate and black oxide coating on the iron surface were magnetite. In this system, ferrous iron was determined to be a partial contributor to nitrate removal, but nitrate reduction was not observed in the absence of Fe⁰. Nitrate removal was also enhanced by augmenting the Fe⁰–H₂O system with Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺, or Al³⁺ but not Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, or Zn²⁺. Our research indicates that a magnetite coating is not a hindrance to nitrate reduction by Fe⁰, provided sufficient aqueous Fe²⁺ is present in the system.

Related articles in JEQ:

This Issue in Journal of Environmental Quality

JEQ 2003 32: 1167-1172. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Rakshit, C. J. Matocha, and G. R. Haszler Nitrate Reduction in the Presence of Wustite J. Environ. Qual., July 5, 2005; 34(4): 1286 - 1292. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]