Do natural biofilm impact nZVI mobility and interactions with porous media? A column study
Abstract
present, altering NP mobility and/or reactivity and thereby NP effectiveness. The influence of the presence of a
multi species biofilm on the mobility of two types of zero-valent iron NP (nZVI; NANOFER 25S and optimized
NANOFER STAR, NanoIron s.r.o. (Czech Republic))was tested in laboratory experiments with columns mimicking
aquifer conditions. Biofilmswere grown in columns filledwith sand in nitrate reducing conditions using groundwater
from an industrial site as inoculum. After two months growth, they were composed of several bacterial
species, dominated by Pseudomonas stutzeri. Biofilm strongly affected the physical characteristics of the sand, decreasing
total porosity from~30% to ~15%, and creating preferential pathwayswith high flowvelocities. nZVI suspensions
were injected into the columns at a seepage velocity of 10m day−1. Presence of biofilm did not impact
the concentrations of Fe at the column outlet nor the amount of total Fe retained in the sand, as attested by the
measurement of magnetic susceptibility. However, it had a significant impact on NP size sorting as well as on
total Fe distribution along the column. This suggests nZVI-biofilm interactions that were confirmed by microscopic
observations using SEM/STEM coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Our study shows
that biofilm modifies the water flow velocity in the porous media, favoring the transport of large aggregates
and decreased NP mobility due to physical and chemical interactions.