Fate and Transport of Superparamagentic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Porous Media

The increased use of engineered nanoparticles in various applications such as electronics and biomedical engineering has raised concerns about their impact on human health and the environment. In this study we investigate the fate and transport in porous media of super paramagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles surface coated with poly acrylic acid for size stabilization. The nanoparticle size distribution was first analyzed to assess the effect of dilution on the particle size. It was found that the poly acrylic acid is generally effective in stabilizing the size of the nanoparticles, except for highly diluted solutions. Sorption batch experiments performed at different pH values showed that the SPIO nanoparticles did not adsorb significantly on sand. Transport experiments were conducted in a sand-packed column for different SPIO injection concentrations and for upwards and downwards flow conditions. Comparison of the nanoparticle breakthrough curves to that of a conservative tracer showed that while advection and dispersion are the two main mechanisms responsible for the tracer transport, nanoparticle transport is also strongly influenced by the nanoparticle concentration in the solution. At low concentrations (in the range of 1 mg/L) the high levels of dilution mean that only a small portion of the nanoparticles get transported due to their larger effective size. Another consequence of the concentration-dependent mobility of the nanoparticles is sharper breakthrough curves compared to that of the tracer. Overall, the results demonstrate the significance of concentration on nanoparticle size and, consequently, transport. These results also point to the need for effective nanoparticle size control for the efficient deliverability of reactive nanoparticles (such as zero-valent iron) in in-situ groundwater remediation applications.