ORC-GAC-Fe0 system for the remediation of trichloroethylene and monochlorobenzene contaminated aquifer: 1. Adsorption and degradation

Activities at a former Chemistry Triangle in Bitterfeld, Germany, resulted in contamination of groundwater with a mixture of trichloroethylene(TCE) and monochlorobenzene(MCB). The objective of this study was to develop a barrier system, which includes an ORC(oxygen release compounds) and GAC(granular activated carbon) layer for adsorption of MCB and bioregeneration of GAC, a Fe0layer for chemical reductive dechlorination of TCE and other chlorinated hydrocarbon in situ. A laboratory-scale column experiment was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of this proposed system. This experiment was performed using a series of continuous flow Teflon columns including an ORC column, a GAC column, and a Fe0 column. Simulated MCB and TCE contaminated groundwater was pumped upflow into this system at a flow rate of t. 1 ml/min. Results showed that 17%-50% of TCE and 28%-50% of MCB were dissipated in ORC column. Chloride ion, however, was not released, which suggest the dechlorination do not happen in ORC column. In GAC column, the adsorption of contaminants on activated carbon and their induced degradation by adapted microorganisms attached to the carbon surface were observed. Due to competitive exchange processes, TCE can be desorbed by MCB in GAC column and further degraded in iron column. The completely dechlorination rate of TCE was 0.16-0.18 cm^-1, 1-4 magnitudes more than the formation rate of three dichloroethene isomers. Cis-DCE is the main chlorinated product, which can be cumulated in the system, not only depending on the formation rate and its decaying rate, but also the initial concentration of TCE.