Isotopic fractionation associated to nitrate reduction by zero valent iron

Abstract

One of the methodologies developed in recent years to induce nitrate attenuation is the use of permeable reactive barriers (PRB). This in situ remediation technique involves the interception of groundwater flow to remove contaminants by physical, chemical or biological processes. In the case of nitrate pollution, heterotrophic or autotrophic denitrification can be induced by using organic or inorganic substrates, respectively. On the other hand, several PRB filled with Zero-Valent Iron (ZVI) have been installed to remediate groundwater polluted with chlorinated solvents (Wilkin et al., 2014) or nitrate (Gu et al., 2002).