Removal of hexavalent chromium from contaminated ground water using zero-valent iron nanoparticles

Batch experiments were conducted on ground water samples collected from a site contaminated with Cr(VI) to evaluate the redox potential of zero-valent iron (Fe0) nanoparticles for remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated ground water. For this, various samples of contaminated ground water were allowed to react with various loadings of Fe0 nanoparticles for a reaction period of 60 min. Data showed 100% reduction of Cr(VI) in all the contaminated ground water samples after treatment with 0.20 gL−1 of Fe0 nanoparticles. An increase in the reduction of Cr(VI) from 45% to 100% was noticed with the increase in the loading of Fe0 nanoparticles from 0.05 to 0.20 gL−1. Reaction kinetics of Cr(VI) reduction showed pseudo first-order kinetics with rate constant in the range of 1.1 × 10−3 to 3.9 × 10−3 min−1. This work demonstrates the potential utility of Fe0 nanoparticles in treatment and remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated water source.