Electro-enhanced remediation of trichloroethene-contaminated groundwater using zero-valent iron

The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate electro-enhanced de chlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) in groundwater using Fe-0. A bench-sc ale flow-through Fe-0 reactor column with direct current was tested to incr ease the efficiency of Fe-0 medium by providing an external supply of elect rons. The bench-scale column tests confirmed that the application of direct current with Fe-0 was highly effective in enhancing the rate of TCE dechlo rination. The t(1/2) for the TCE dechlorination without current was 10.3 ho urs and the t(1/2) for the TCE dechlorination with current was about 1 hour . The dechlorination mechanism appears to be reductive dechlorination, with the electrons supplied by the iron oxidation and external direct current p ower supply serving as the source of the electrons.