Use of catalytic oxidation technology of iron-oxide minerals in groundwater remediation

The safe utilization of water resources is a problem of much concern because there are many organic pollutants in groundwater. Traditional water treatment process for the removal of persistent organic pollutants shows unsatisfing effect. In recent years, the use of natural iron-bearing minerals as catalysts is a promising technique for the remediation of groundwater and industrial effluents. This review summarizes the recent application of iron-bearing minerals, clay-supported minerals and nano-scale minerals as active catalysts with hydrogen peroxide for groundwater remediation. The status of problems and development is also discussed in this paper. Studies have shown that these iron-bearing minerals used in pollutants removal are very attractive for their low cost, abundance, and environmental benign characteristics in the earth's crust; nevertheless, the influence of the natural organic matters, the uncertainties of the health impacts and the environmental fate of these particles deserve further investigation before their widespread application.