Reductive dechlorination of PCE using zero valent iron (ZVI) with surfactants

Abstract

The effect of various surfactants on the dechlorination of PCE by ZVI was studied. Experiments were conducted in 40-mL bottles capped with Teflon septa. The iron was cleaned by washing in 1 N HCl. While the reduction of PCE was rarely observed in the control without ZVI, the concentration of PCE remarkably decreased in the presence of ZVI with and without surfactant. Half of the initial concentration of PCE remained after 24 hr. the rate of dechlorination of PCE by ZVI with both cetylpyridinium chloride and Triton X-100 was much greater than without these. The combination of surfactant with ZVI significantly increased the degradation of PCE because surfactants enhanced the dissolution of PCE as an aqueous phase so that more PCE could be available in the aqueous phase. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 221st ACS National Meeting (San Diego, CA 4/1-5/2001).