Colloid formation in groundwater: effect of phosphate, manganese, silicate and dissolved organic matter on the dynamic heterogeneous oxidation of ferrous iron

Subsurface aeration is the in situ oxidation of Fe from groundwater that is used to make drinking water potable. When subsurface aeration is applied to an anaerobic groundwater system with pH > 7, Fe(II) is oxidised heterogeneously. The heterogeneous oxidation of Fe(II) can result in the in situ formation of Fe colloids. To study this, the effect of substances commonly found in groundwater (e.g. PO4, Mn, silicate and fulvic acid) on the heterogeneous oxidation process was measured. The heterogeneous oxidation of Fe(II) becomes retarded when PO4, Mn, silicate or fulvic acid is present in the groundwater in addition to Fe(II). Phosphate and fulvic acid retarded the oxidation process most. The heterogeneous oxidation was described using a model with a homogeneous (k(1)) and an autocatalytic oxidation rate constant (k'(2)). From the modelling it followed that the homogeneous oxidation rate constant was not affected or even slightly elevated whereas the autocatalytic oxidation rate constant decreased remarkably by the addition of PO4, Mn, silicate or fulvic acid. From speciation calculations it followed that the decreased availability of the Fe(H) species can only explain a small part of the retarded autocatalytic oxidation process. Therefore exploratory calculations were performed to gain insight into whether the adsorption of PO4 or fulvic acid could explain the retarded autocatalytic oxidation. These calculations showed that the adsorption of fulvic acid could explain the retarded autocatalytic oxidation process. In contrast the adsorption of PO4 only partly explained the retarded autocatalytic oxidation process. In terms of colloid formation this study shows that the heterogeneous oxidation of Fe(II) in presence of PO4, Mn, silicate or fulvic acid leads to the formation of Fe colloids. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved