Production of nZVI from

LD slag
Presented by- Monika Patel
Supervisor- Bharadwaz Bhagawati
Material Modelling & Product Design
R&D and Scientific Services
Tata Steel

nZVI- what is it?

nZVI= nanoscale Zero Valent Iron
nZVI has a core-shell
structure, Fe(0) forming
the core and
iron(hydro)oxide covering
as shell

Iron in the zero

valent state
brought down to
nanoscale

Rationale behind using LD slag

Pig iron

LD slag

Problems of LD slag
High mineral content
Presence of free lime
Large volumetric expansion

Waste

Steel
A possible alternative application of
this material can prove to be highly
beneficial for the steel industry from
the
economic
as
well
as
environmental point of view

Composition of LD
slag *

20-40% Iron content

Used for production

of nZVI

*Jyoti Ranjan Mahakul, Dillip Makhija, Prashant Dixit, Report on Beneficiation of LD Slag, Tata Steel

Applications of nZVI
Groundwater remediation

Wastewater treatment

nZVI can successfully remove

*
Chlorinated organic
compounds
Nitroaromatic compounds
Arsenic
Heavy metals like Cr, Cu,
Ni etc.
Dyes
Phenolic impurities

Removal efficiency of Cu and Ni ions by nZVI

F. Fu et al. / Journal of Hazardous Materials 267 (2014) 194 205

*R.A. Crane, T.B. Scott Journal of Hazardous Materials 211 212 (2012) 112 125
#APPLICATION OF IRON NANOPARTICLES FOR INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT,16. - 18. 10. 2013, Brno, Czech Republic,
EU

Mechanism of impurity removal

Contaminants
adsorbed on surface

Reduction by Fe00

Precipitation/coprecipitation of
product species

Image source: In-Situ Remediation of Soil Contamination http://www.nanotech.dtu.dk/Research-mega/Forskningsgrupper/Surface_Engineering/Research/KAISTProjekt#partners

Chemical synthesis of nZVI

Reduction of aqueous solution of iron(III) chloride by sodium

borohydride

Limitations
Toxic, corrosive fumes are evolved from chemical
precursors (borohydride)
Evolution of flammable Hydrogen gas
Rapid agglomeration on reaction with the oxidisable media
(dissolved O2 or water)
Generally require special equipment or high energy
increasing cost of production

C.B. Wang, W.X. Zhang, Synthesizing nanoscale iron particles for rapidand complete dechlorination of TCE and PCBs, Environ. Sci. Technol. 31(1997)
21542156

Green synthesis of nZVI

Green tea extract is used for reduction of iron as well as acting like a
capping agent on the formed iron nano particles to stabilize them.

Green tea contains polyphenols (flavanols), more commonly known as

anti-oxidants, which reduce iron to its zero valent state.
Advantages
Increase reactivity, accelerate reduction, and
improve the physical structure of the Fe0
Synthesize nZVI in a single step without harmful by
products
Stabilize the nZVI particles to prevent agglomeration

Oakes, Jacqueline S., "Investigation of Iron Reduction by Green Tea Polyphenols for Application in Soil Remediation" (2013). Master's Theses. Paper 528

nZVI from LD slag- synthesis scheme

Sieving of LD
Sieving
slag of LD
slag

Wet Magnetic
Wet Magnetic
separation
separation

Preparation of
Preparation
Green Tea of
Green Tea
extract
extract

Recovering nZVI
Recovering
particles nZVI
particles
through
through
membrane
membrane
filtration
filtration

Reaction of slag
Reaction
of slag
with
GT extract
with GT extract

Analyses and Results

SEM
XRD

SEM

Size distribution is due to the different reducing properties of various naturally

derived compounds in the green tea

SEM image of fresh GT-Fe revealed them to be quasi-spherical shaped

nanoparticles

Compared to the chemically synthesized nZVI, there are fewer aggregates in

the green synthesized nanoparticles
It is attributed to the polyphenols or antioxidants in the GT-extracts acting as the
capping agents

Fe3O4

FeOOH

Fe0

XRD
Range 0118
scanning rate 2.0/min
Fe(0) peak
2=44.7

Conclusion

nZVI has been successfully prepared from LD slag

Green tea extract reduced iron nanoparticles and performed capping

action to stabilize them

Studies are going on to analyze its efficiency in treating arsenic from

industrial wastewater

Problem of slag disposal is thereby mitigated

Thank
Thank
you
you !!