Development of nanometals for source zone remediation

加拿大环境部估计，29%的人口将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。这些废物在地下存留数十年的可能性被忽视了，可能会污染饮用水源。非水相液体（NAPLs），如全氯乙烯和二氯乙烷，是一类处置不当的废液。这些液体极难从地下含水层中移除，也是本提案的重点。纳米金属是一种很有前途的创新地下水修复技术，可以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——一根头发的宽度是它的500到5000倍。在这种尺度下，它们可以通过土壤和岩石中的微观流动通道，到达并破坏地下水污染物，而大颗粒则无法做到这一点。在本研究中，将开发活性纳米金属来降解地下NAPL源区。本项目将资助7名研究生和2名博士后进行反应性纳米金属合成、表征、反应性和迁移率的综合研究。虽然纳米颗粒可能代表了一种修复地下污染场地的新方法，但仍有必要进行大量的研究以显著地发展这项技术。这项研究将提供关于纳米金属在地下流动性的宝贵信息，并开发一种新的修复技术，这是迫切需要的，以确保加拿大子孙后代的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.