Effects of copper and palladium on the reduction of bromate by Fe(0)

Abstract

Bromate reduction by Fe(0) with incorporation of copper or palladium was investigated in batch tests. The incorporation of copper led to an increase in the rate of bromate reduction, while incorporation of palladium did not show any effect on bromate reduction by Fe(0), regardless of the bimetal application techniques (either simultaneous addition of Cu(II) or Pd(IV) into the Fe – BrO 3 - reaction system or using copper or palladium amended iron for bromate removal). Surface analyses by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) techniques indicated that aqueous Cu(II) was reduced and incorporated into the iron surface to form Cu 2O and Cu(0). Among these two species, pure Cu(0) is not an active electron donor to the bromate reduction reaction, as shown by there being no reduction from using Cu(0) powders alone and no enhancement by Fe(0) when physically mixed with Cu(0). Although it has been proposed in the literature that the enhancement of adsorption also contributes to the enhancement of chemical reduction, this is not the case here because adsorption decreased when Cu increased. The enhanced bromate reduction rate in the presence of copper observed here is most likely the result of the newly formed active Cu(I). The presence of PdO was evidenced by XPS but yielded no enhancement in bromate reduction. Finally, the Cu 2O present on the iron surface because of copper impurities in commercially available iron was found to be involved in the bromate reduction and to accelerate the reduction rate.