Application of zeolites in permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) for in-situ groundwater remediation: A critical review

Yunhui Zhang; Benyi Cao; Hailong Yin; Lite Meng; Wei Jin; Fei Wang; Jian Xu; Abir Al-Tabbaa

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136290

Application of zeolites in permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) for in-situ groundwater remediation: A critical review

Chemosphere. 2022 Dec;308(Pt 1):136290. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136290. Epub 2022 Sep 1.

Authors

Yunhui Zhang¹, Benyi Cao², Hailong Yin³, Lite Meng⁴, Wei Jin⁵, Fei Wang⁶, Jian Xu⁷, Abir Al-Tabbaa⁸

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom. Electronic address: yunhuizhang@tongji.edu.cn.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom. Electronic address: b.cao@surrey.ac.uk.
³ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China. Electronic address: yinhailong@tongji.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China. Electronic address: 853275134@qq.com.
⁵ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China. Electronic address: tjjinwei@tongji.edu.cn.
⁶ Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China. Electronic address: feiwang@seu.edu.cn.
⁷ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Management and Pollution Control, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, Nanjing, 210042, China. Electronic address: xujian@nies.org.
⁸ Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom. Electronic address: aa22@cam.ac.uk.

PMID: 36058373
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136290

Abstract

Permeable reactive barrier (PRB) is one of the most promising in-situ groundwater remediation technologies due to its low costs and wide immobilization suitability for multiple contaminants. Reactive medium is a key component of PRBs and their selection needs to consider removal effectiveness as well as permeability. Zeolites have been extensively reported as reactive media owing to their high adsorption capacity, diverse pore structure and high stability. Moreover, the application of zeolites can reduce the PRBs fouling and clogging compared to reductants like zero-valence iron (ZVI) due to no formation of secondary precipitates, such as iron monosulfide, in spite of their reactivity to remove organics. This study gives a detailed review of lab-scale applications of zeolites in PRBs in terms of sorption characteristics, mechanisms, column performance and desorption features, as well as their field-scale applications to point out their application tendency in PRBs for contaminated groundwater remediation. On this basis, future prospects and suggestions for using zeolites in PRBs for groundwater remediation were put forward. This study provides a comprehensive and critical review of the lab-scale and field-scale applications of zeolites in PRBs and is expected to guide the future design and applications of adsorbents-based PRBs for groundwater remediation.

Keywords: Contamination; Groundwater; Permeable reactive barrier; Sorption; Zeolite.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Environmental Restoration and Remediation*
Groundwater* / chemistry
Iron / chemistry
Reducing Agents
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis
Zeolites*

Substances

Reducing Agents
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Zeolites
Iron