Application project to verify the efficacy of iron nitride nanoparticles in real-life conditions

On-site testing of iron nitride nanoparticles in groundwater contaminated with chlorinated ethylenes to prove their efficacy is the goal of the project “Pilot Application of Iron Nitride Nanoparticles for the Reduction of Chlorinated Ethylenes in Groundwater”. Thanks to the funding from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic amounting to approximately 12.6 million Czech koruna, experts from Palacký University’s CATRIN, the Institute of Microbiology of the CAS and the EPS biotechnology company will collaborate on it in the next two years.

“At a locality affected by chlorinated ethylenes, especially trichloroethylene, we will use iron nitride nanoparticles and will monitor the decrease in level contamination, the effect of nanoparticles on the microorganisms present in groundwater and the efficacy of the nanoparticles under real conditions,” said the main investigator of the project Jana Křížek Oborná from CATRIN’s research group Environmental Nanotechnologies.

In the past two years, scientists from this research group have published two papers in prestigious journals on the topic of iron nitride nanoparticles. “Based on these excellent laboratory results, we have decided to translate the iron nitride nanoparticles from the laboratory into practice, which should be done as part of the new application project,” explained Křížek Oborná.

Olomouc researchers, for example, in collaboration with the University of Ostrava and two universities in Vienna, developed iron nitride nanoparticles, tested their effects for removing chlorinated ethylenes from the aqueous environment and described in detail the mechanisms of the reactions. The results were also published in the prestigious journal for environmental research Environmental Science & Technology. Compared to traditional zero-valent iron nanoparticles, iron nitride nanoparticles are much more effective for the elimination of trichloroetylene.

Chlorinated ethylenes, such as trichloroethylene (TCE), are organic compounds that serve, for example, as solvents. Trichloroethylene is a known carcinogen; long-term exposure can lead to kidney and liver cancer, while short-term can cause, for example, neurological problems. When released into the environment, TCE progresses through the rock environment to groundwater, where it occurs in a dissolved form or forms an organic phase. TCEs show a high affinity for the soil matrix, resulting in its lengthy gradual release into groundwater even after treatment of the site with conventional remediation methods. Remediation of such contaminated groundwater requires a comprehensive approach.