Development of nanometals for source zone remediation

加拿大环境部估计，29%的人口消耗地下水作为生活用水，因此保护这一资源对加拿大人的健康和福祉至关重要。 从历史上看，地下被认为是注入地下的废物的天然过滤器。 这些废物可能在地下存在数十年，可能污染饮用水源，但却被忽视了。 非水相液体（NAPL），如全氯乙烯和二氯乙烷，是一类废液，受到不适当的处置实践。这些液体极难从地下含水层中清除，是本提案的重点。 纳米金属是一种有前途的创新地下水修复技术，将这些污染物转化为毒性较小或无毒的材料。它们特别有用，因为它们的大小-一根人类头发的宽度是500到5,000倍。 在这种规模下，它们可以通过土壤和岩石中的微观流动通道移动，达到并破坏较大颗粒无法达到的地下水污染物。在这项研究中，活性纳米金属将被开发来降解地下NAPL源区。该项目将资助7名研究生和2名博士后研究员进行集成的反应性纳米金属合成，表征，反应性和流动性研究计划。虽然纳米颗粒可能代表了一种新的方法，用于修复地下污染场地的显着研究仍然是必要的显着发展这项技术。这项研究将提供有关地下纳米金属流动性的宝贵信息，并开发出一种新的修复技术，以确保加拿大人未来几代人拥有清洁和丰富的饮用水来源。

Environment Canada estimates that 29% of the population consumes groundwater as their domestic water so protection of this resource is essential to the health and well-being of Canadians. Historically, the subsurface was thought to act as a natural filter of wastes injected into the ground. The potential for these wastes to persist in the subsurface for decades, potentially contaminating drinking water sources was ignored. Non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs), such as perchlorethlyene and dichloroethane, are one class of waste liquids that were subject to improper disposal practices. These liquids are extremely difficult to remove from subsurface aquifers and are the focus of this proposal. Nanometals are one promising innovative groundwater remediation technology that convert these contaminants into less toxic or nontoxic materials. They are particularly useful because of their size - a single human hair is 500 to 5,000 times as wide. At that scale, they can move through microscopic flow channels in soil and rock, reaching and destroying groundwater pollutants that larger particles cannot. In this study reactive nanometals will be developed to degrade subsurface NAPL source zones. This project will support 7 graduate students and 2 postdoctoral fellows to conduct an integrated reactive nanometal synthesis, characteri- zation, reactivity and mobility research program. Although nanoparticles may represent a novel approach for the remediation of subsurface contaminated sites significant research is still necessary to significantly develop this technology. This study will provide invaluable information regarding nanometal mobility in the subsurface and develop a new remediation technology that is urgently needed to ensure a clean and abundant source of drinking water for Canadians for generations to come.