In situ remediation of subsurface contamination: opportunities and challenges for nanotechnology and advanced materials

Tong Zhang; Gregory V. Lowry; Natalie L. Capiro; Jianmin Chen; Wei Chen; Yongsheng Chen; Dionysios D. Dionysiou; Daniel W. Elliott; Subhasis Ghoshal; Thilo Hofmann; Heileen Hsu-Kim; Joseph Hughes; Chuanjia Jiang; Guibin Jiang; Chuanyong Jing; Michael Kavanaugh; Qilin Li; Sijin Liu; Jie Ma; Bingcai Pan; Tanapon Phenrat; Xiaolei Qu; Xie Quan; Navid Saleh; Peter J. Vikesland; Qiuquan Wang; Paul Westerhoff; Michael S. Wong; Tian Xia; Baoshan Xing; Bing Yan; Lunliang Zhang; Dongmei Zhou; Pedro J. J. Alvarez

doi:10.1039/C9EN00143C

In situ remediation of subsurface contamination: opportunities and challenges for nanotechnology and advanced materials

Tong Zhang,

^a Gregory V. Lowry,

*^b Natalie L. Capiro,

^c Jianmin Chen,^d Wei Chen,

^a Yongsheng Chen,

^e Dionysios D. Dionysiou,^f Daniel W. Elliott,

^g Subhasis Ghoshal,

^h Thilo Hofmann,

ⁱ Heileen Hsu-Kim,

^j Joseph Hughes,^k Chuanjia Jiang,^a Guibin Jiang,^l Chuanyong Jing,

^l Michael Kavanaugh,^g Qilin Li,

^m Sijin Liu,

^l Jie Ma,ⁿ Bingcai Pan,

^o Tanapon Phenrat,^p Xiaolei Qu,^o Xie Quan,

^q Navid Saleh,

^r Peter J. Vikesland,

^s Qiuquan Wang,

^t Paul Westerhoff,^u Michael S. Wong,

^v Tian Xia,

^w Baoshan Xing,

^x Bing Yan,

^y Lunliang Zhang,^z Dongmei Zhou

^aa and Pedro J. J. Alvarez

^m

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China

^b Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
E-mail: glowry@cmu.edu

^c Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Program, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36830, USA

^d Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention, Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

^e College of Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA

^f Environmental Engineering and Science Program, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (CEE), University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0012, USA

^g Geosyntec Consultants, Inc, Oakland, CA and Acton, MA, USA

^h Department of Civil Engineering, Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

ⁱ Department for Environmental Geosciences, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria

^j Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA

^k College of Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

^l State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China

^m Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA

ⁿ State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, Beijing Key Lab of Oil & Gas Pollution Control, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China

^o State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Jiangsu 210023, China

^p Research Unit for Integrated Natural Resources Remediation and Reclamation (IN3R), Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand

^q Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering, School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

^r Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA

^s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA

^t Department of Chemistry &, the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China

^u Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-5306, USA

^v Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA

^w Division of NanoMedicine, Department of Medicine, California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

^x Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA

^y Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China

^z Poten Environment Group Co., Ltd., Beijing 100082, China

^aa Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China

Abstract

Complex subsurface contamination domains and limited efficacy of existing treatment approaches pose significant challenges to site remediation and underscore the need for technological innovation to develop cost-effective remedies. Here, we discuss opportunities for nanotechnology-enabled in situ remediation technologies to address soil and groundwater contamination. The discussion covers candidate nanomaterials, applications of nanomaterials to complement existing remediation approaches and address emerging contaminants, as well as the potential barriers for implementation and strategies and research needs to overcome these barriers. Promising nanomaterials in subsurface remediation include multi-functional nanocomposites for synergistic contaminant sequestration and degradation, selective adsorbents and catalysts, nano-tracers for subsurface contaminant delineation, and slow-release reagents enabled by stimuli-responsive nanomaterials. Limitations on mixing and transport of nanomaterials in the subsurface are severe constraints for in situ applications of these materials. Mixing enhancements are needed to overcome transport limitations in laminar flow environments. Reactive nanomaterials may be generated in situ to remediate contamination in low hydraulic conductivity zones. Overall, nano-enabled remediation technologies may improve remediation performance for a broad range of legacy and emerging contaminants. These technologies should continue to be developed and tested to discern theoretical hypotheses from feasible opportunities, and to establish realistic performance expectations for in situ remediation techniques using engineered nanomaterials alone or in combination with other technologies.

This article is part of the themed collections: Environmental Science special collection celebrating Xiamen University’s Centenary and Best Papers 2019 – Environmental Science: Nano

Environmental Science: Nano

In situ remediation of subsurface contamination: opportunities and challenges for nanotechnology and advanced materials

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