In situ precipitation of hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) for remediation of subsurface iodine contamination
A practical approach for in-situ hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) precipitation was developed for iodine immobilization under field-scale conditions at the Hanford Site. A series of 1D meter-long bench top column experiments packed with Hanford sediments was conducted with a single acidic ferric solution (0.1 M, pH = 1.5) injection. Because carbonate and clay minerals are widely present in sediments, self-pH buffering of the injected acidic ferric solution occurred due to mineral dissolution, leading to HFO precipitation under a neutral condition. Up to ~12 mg/g HFO successfully precipitated and evenly distributed in the column sediments, and the remobilization of the neo-formed HFO precipitates was limited (< 4 wt.% after 100 pore volumes of flushing). The transport of IO3- in the HFO-amended sediments was strongly retarded through both adsorption and co-precipitation processes. However, reversible adsorption of iodine on HFO was observed, which might limit its application to slow moving groundwater systems.