Sustainable in situ groundwater remediation
Towards more sustainable water resource management
Fertilisers together with pesticides are applied in agriculture and farming activities, but their extensive use has resulted in nitrate pollution of aquifers, leading to the degradation of groundwater quality, which limits its potential uses as a supply.
The main purpose of Nirvana is to develop an innovative, effective and sustainable technology for in situ remediation of nitrate polluted aquifers. This solution, which consists of injecting small quantities of zerovalent iron nanoparticles into the aquifer, would promote more sustainable water resource management by increasing the volume of groundwater suitable for drinking consumption.
Developing a novel solution for groundwater denitrification
Nirvana will develop a novel solution for in situ groundwater denitrification. Specifically, zerovalent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) will be injected into the aquifer in order to convert nitrates into more biodegradable compounds and enhance biological denitrification in the aquifer. In addition, these nanoparticles will make it possible to reduce the concentration of organochlorine pesticides in the water. This system will be tested in a pilot-scale site located in a nitrate polluted porous aquifer.
removal of
17,500 kg
of nitrate
from the aquifer
by denitrification with nZVI
A 70% reduction
in the organochlorine pesticide concentration in water
71% reduction in total OPEX
compared to conventional
ex situ
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