USE OF ZERO-VALENT IRON FOR
WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Suwannee Junyapoon*

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang
Chalongkrung Road, Ladkrabang District, Bangkok 10520, Thailand

ABSTRACT

Nowadays many water resources are polluted by anthropogenic sources including household and agricultural waste and industrial processes. Public concern over the environmental impact of wastewater pollution has increased. Several conventional wastewater treatment techniques, i.e. chemical coagulation, adsorption, activated sludge, have been applied to remove the pollution, however there are still some limitations, especially that of high operation costs. The use of zero-valent iron as a reductive medium is receiving increased interest due to its low operation and maintenance costs. In addition, it is easy-to-obtain, with good effectiveness and ability for degrading contaminants. This paper reviews the use of zero-valent iron to remove contaminants from wastewater such as halogenated hydrocarbon compounds, heavy metals, dyes, pesticides, and herbicides, which represent the main pollutants in wastewater.

KEYWORDS: Wastewater treatment, Zero-valent iron

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