Effects of brining on the corrosion of ZVI and its subsequent As(III/V) and Se(IV/VI) removal from water

•All the tested salt solutions except Na2SiO3 enhanced ZVI corrosion to different extents.•Dominant corrosion products derived from ZVI varied with the type of brine solution.•Degrees of both H2 evolution and O2 adsorption corrosions were quantified.•Removal of As/Se was positively correlated with the degree of ZVI corrosion.•As/Se removal by pcZVI involved both the adsorption and reduction processes.

Zero-valent iron (ZVI) has been extensively applied in water remediation, and most of the ZVI materials employed in practical applications are iron scraps, which have usually been corroded to certain extent under different conditions. In this study, the effects of brining with six solutions (NaCl, Na2SO4, NaHCO3, Na2SiO3, NH4Cl, and NaH2PO4) on the corrosion of ZVI and its performance in the removal of As(III/V)/Se(IV/VI) were systematically investigated. All the studied solutions enhanced the corrosion of ZVI except for Na2SiO3, and the degrees of corrosion followed the order of NH4Cl > NaH2PO4 > Na2SO4 > NaCl > NaHCO3 > H2O > Na2SiO3. The corrosion products derived from ZVI were identified by SEM and XRD, and the dominant corrosion products varied with the type of brine solution. The positive correlation between the degree of ZVI corrosion and As(III/V)/Se(IV/VI) removal by the pre-corroded ZVI (pcZVI) was verified. In addition, As and Se removal by pcZVI was realized via a comprehensive process including adsorption and reduction, as further supported by the XPS analysis. We believe this study will shed new light upon the selection of iron materials pre-corroded under different saline conditions for practical water remediation.

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