Green approach for fabrication of sand-bimetallic (Fe/Pb) nanocomposite as reactive material for remediation of contaminated groundwater using permeable reactive barrier

In this study, the quartz sand (QS) was supported by the nanoparticles (Fe/Pb) that were made using an in-situ green synthesis technique using pomegranate peel extract to produce a QS-Fe/ Pb nanocomposite, it was utilized as a reactive material in permeable reactive barrier (PRB) for remediating the contaminated groundwater with ciprofloxacin(CIP) & copper(Cu(II)) in batch and continuous modes. The characterization of the nanocomposite was determined using many tests, including XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, TEM, and surface area. Several parameters influencing the removal process in batch and continuous modes were studied to obtain the best conditions that achieve the highest removal percent (99%) and to evaluate the activity of the nanocomposite as a reactive bed. Two isotherm models (Freundlich and Langmuir), three kinetic models (intraparticle diffusion, second-order, and pseudo-first), and five breakthrough curve models (Thomas-BDST, Bohart-Adams, Belter-Cussler-Hu Model, Yan, and Clark) were utilized. The results indicated that Freundlich and the pseudo-second-order models show a better fit for the batch experimental data with adsorption capacity of 15 and 9.8 mg/g for CIP & Cu(II), respectively, while Clark model was the most representative of the continuous experimental data. This study proved that the prepared nanocomposite could be a successful reactive material in PRB. (c) 2023 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier BV on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).