Next-generation sulfidated zerovalent iron nanoparticles for groundwater remediation: degradation of emerging and legacy halogenated pollutants and interactions with bacteria

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Water is a critical resource for global health and economic development and its global scarcity is exacerbated by increasing pollution. A significant number of aquifers and water sources are contaminated by many halogenated organic chemicals known to be toxic to humans or that are only now being linked to a wide range of human health issues including cancer, neurological disorders and endocrine disruption. Eliminating these chemicals from water is challenging because of their high stability and persistence, and technological advances are needed to enable or improve their elimination in contaminated water sources. The proposed research program will develop cost-effective and safe nanoparticles, made of earth-abundant elements such as iron, sulfur and carbon, for efficient in situ treatment of a variety of toxic halogenated organic chemicals in our water sources. The judicious assembly of atoms and molecules comprised of these elements into nanoparticles can yield highly reactive treatment agents whose performance surpasses those enabled by conventional agents. Current nanoparticles are either not sufficiently reactive in the actual environment or have toxic elements which render their direct use in our aquifers and water sources impossible. The research to be conducted is original and innovative because it will (i) develop safe iron-sulfur-carbon composite nanoparticles that are strategically designed to be very reactive in polluted environments; (ii) tune the design and composition of the nanoparticles to be reactive to a broad spectrum of toxic halogenated chemicals; (iii) identify strategies for the nanoparticles to act synergistically with pollutant-degrading bacteria to enable efficient and sustainable clean-up of polluted waters. The research program will provide high quality training for 1 postdoc, 4 PhD, 3 MSc and 5 undergraduate students. They will develop novel nanomaterials, use cutting-edge tools to generate new knowledge of how their composition can provide high reactivity, high stability when deployed in the environment, and high synergism with pollutant-degrading bacteria. The research will enable us to meet increasingly stringent regulatory limits for toxic halogenated chemicals for protection of human health and the environment. The research results will be directly transferred to research partners from industry and government, and to the larger community through publications and conferences, ensuring environmental, social and economic benefits to Canada.