%0 Journal Article
%T Metallic Iron For Water Treatment: Healing A Research Community - Metallic Iron For Water Treatment: Healing A Research Community - Open Access Pub
%A Chicgoua Noubactep
%J OAP | Home | Journal of New Developments in Chemistry | Open Access Pub
%D 2018
%X Despite two decades of intensive research on using metallic iron (Fe0) for environmental remediation and water treatment, basic concerns about their efficiency still prevail. This communication presents the basic idea of the view that challenges the prevailing paradigm on the operating mode of Fe0/H2O systems. The alternative paradigm is in tune with the mainstream science on aqueous iron corrosion. Its large scale adoption will enable a scientifically based system design and increase the acceptance of this already proven efficient technology. DOI10.14302/issn.2377-2549.jndc-12-172 The quest for an affordable (low-cost), applicable (low-maintenance) and efficient technology for water treatment has culminated in the development of metallic iron technology (¡®Fe0 technology¡®). Fe0 is used both in the subsurface (reactive barriers) and above-ground treatment plants (Noubactep, 2013). 18Fe0 has been demonstrated efficient at several sites for the remediation of biological and chemical contamination. However, the operating mode of Fe0 is still not known (Crane and Scott, 20125; Noubactep, 20121; Noubactep et al., 2012; 16, 17Togue-Kamga et al., 2012)25. This frustrating situation is currently endangering the spreading of this proven efficient technology (Mueller et al., 2011; Ruhl et al., 2012a).14, 22 This communication argues that the major problem of the Fe0 technology is that scientists are working on an incorrect basis The Original Mistake The Fe0 technology was born with the premise that contaminants are reduced as fortuitously observed by Reynolds et al. (1990). 21From that time on, efforts were directed at identifying the reduction mechanism and the impact of relevant operational parameters thereon (Matheson and Tratnyek, 1994; Ruhl et al., 2012b)12, 23 Moreover, any likely argument was suggested to justify how electron transfer occurs despite the presence of a (non conductive) diffusion layer (Noubactep, 2011).15 Any critical view was systematically ignored as presented in details elsewhere (Noubactep, 2011).15 This attitude has not changed despite the presentation of an alternative concept rationalizing the removal of non reducible species and microbial contamination. As an example, Chen et al. (2012) 3maintained that ¡°although there are other mechanisms that likely contribute to organic contaminant removal by Fe0 (3 references including Noubactep (2011)),15 there is substantial evidence from multiple investigators that the abiotic removal of TCE by Fe0 largely follows the £¿-elimination pathway¡±. It is interesting to point out that Noubactep (2011)
%U https://www.openaccesspub.org/jndc/article/107