Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2006KY70B

Nitrate and Nitrite Transformation by Fe(II) adsorbed on Kaolinite

Institute: Kentucky
Year Established: 2006 Start Date: 2006-03-01 End Date: 2007-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,004

Principal Investigators: Christopher Matocha

Abstract: The overall goal of the project is to investigate the role of adsorbed Fe(II) species in controlling the fate of nitrate and nitrite. The goal will be achieved through two objectives: 1) Study of the adsorption behavior of Fe(II) on kaolinite as a function of pH, ionic strength and concentration and 2) Collection of fundamental kinetic data on the reactivity of adsorbed Fe(II) toward nitrate and nitrite. Previous work has demonstrated that nitrate can be reduced to ammonium by structural Fe(II) in Fe(II) minerals. The work proposed here will extend these findings by focusing on the reactivity of adsorbed Fe(II) towards nitrate and nitrite.