Degradation of trichloroethylene using iron, bimetals and trimetals.

A cold, electrodeless method was used to prepare bimetals (Fe/Cu, Fe/Ni) and trimetals (Fe/Cu/Ni) for the treatment of trichloroethylene (TCE). With Fe/Cu, the degradation of TCE was observed to increase with increasing copper content up to 9.26 % (w/w) with a first-order degradation rate constant approximately 10 times faster than that of zero-valent iron (ZVI) alone. For copper content greater than 9.26 %, the TCE degradation rate decreased. Dechlorinated compounds were initially observed but they were transitory and accounted for no more than 9 % of initial TCE mass on a carbon molar basis. Ethylene was the primary end product of TCE reduction. Similarly for Fe/Ni, increasing rates of degradation were observed with increasing amounts of nickel with a maximum degradation rate constant of about 30 times higher than that of ZVI alone. However, the amount of nickel needed to reach the maximum rate was only 0.25 %. When copper and nickel were plated onto iron, the maximum reaction rate constant was approximately 50 times higher than that of ZVI. The maximum degradation of TCE was observed for a copper and nickel content of 4.17 % and 0.40 %, respectively. The experimental results indicated that TCE degradation was enhanced by more than one order of magnitude when copper and/or nickel was plated onto the zero-valent iron. However, copper or nickel plated onto iron by the elctrodeless process was found to leach out during the reaction which may, in turn, impact the contaminated water.