Characteristics of the TCE removal in FeO/Fe(II) System

The reaction between iron oxide and ferrous iron is known to be the adsorption of ferrous iron onto the oxide surfaces that produces Fe(II)-Fe(III) (hydr)oxides and ferrous oxide oxidized to ferric ion which is the reducing agent of the target compounds. In our investigations on DS/S using ferrous modified steel slag, the results did not follow the trends. FeO and Fe(II), the major component of steel slag, were used to investigate the degradation of TCE. Degradation did not take place for the first and suddenly degraded after awhile. Degradation of TCE in this system was unexpected because Fe(II)-Fe(III) (hydr)oxides could not be produced in absence of ferric oxide. In this study, the characteristics of FeO/Fe(II) system as a reducing agent were observed through the degradation of TCE, measuring byproducts of TCE and the concentration of Fe(II) and Fe(III). Adsorption of ferrous ion on FeO was observed and the generation of byproducts of TCE showed the degradation of TCE by reduction in the system is obvious. However it did not correspond with the typical reducing mechanisms. Future research on this system needs to be continued to find out whether new species are generated or any unknown mineral oxides are produced in the system that acted in the degradation of TCE.