Transport of Fe‐Based Nanoparticles in Porous Media Facilitated by Xanthan Gum: Non‐Monotonic Relation Between Transport Efficiency and Flow Velocity

Abstract The transport of Fe‐based nanoparticles (Fe‐NPs) in porous media is of vital importance for application of Fe‐NPs in groundwater remediation, yet their low mobility remains an open question. Here, we conducted column and microfluidic transport experiments combined with rheology experiments...

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Main Authors: Guansheng Liu, Lili Huo, Yongming Wu, Zhibing Yang, Jiacheng Xia, Hua Zhong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-03-01
Series:Water Resources Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR039225
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author Guansheng Liu
Lili Huo
Yongming Wu
Zhibing Yang
Jiacheng Xia
Hua Zhong
author_facet Guansheng Liu
Lili Huo
Yongming Wu
Zhibing Yang
Jiacheng Xia
Hua Zhong
author_sort Guansheng Liu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The transport of Fe‐based nanoparticles (Fe‐NPs) in porous media is of vital importance for application of Fe‐NPs in groundwater remediation, yet their low mobility remains an open question. Here, we conducted column and microfluidic transport experiments combined with rheology experiments and model simulations to investigate the effect of xanthan gum (XG) on the transport of two types of Fe‐NPs (nanoparticles of Fe3O4 (nFe3O4) and zero‐valent iron (nZVI)) in quartz sand at different input concentrations and flow velocities. We observed that the rheological modification of water by XG significantly enhanced the transport of both Fe‐NPs, and the transport of nZVI was better than that of nFe3O4. With the increase of input concentration of Fe‐NPs, the transport of nZVI slightly declined, whereas the transport of nFe3O4 initially increased and then decreased. The different responses of transport of nFe3O4 and nZVI to input concentrations were attributed to the unique shear‐thinning rheological properties of XG suspensions with each type of Fe‐NPs. We observed a novel non‐monotonic relation between transport efficiency and flow velocity, where the transport of both Fe‐NPs initially weakened and then enhanced as pore‐water velocity rose within a certain range. We demonstrated that the formation of a non‐flowing layer of XG on the surface of the porous medium was identified as the mechanism responsible for the non‐monotonic transport behavior. These findings provide new insights into transport behavior of Fe‐NPs in porous media under the rheological remediation of XG, and have practical implications for application of Fe‐NPs in groundwater remediation.
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spelling doaj-art-2b591069bdd0430d9bcfbcfc6f6274682025-08-20T03:30:57ZengWileyWater Resources Research0043-13971944-79732025-03-01613n/an/a10.1029/2024WR039225Transport of Fe‐Based Nanoparticles in Porous Media Facilitated by Xanthan Gum: Non‐Monotonic Relation Between Transport Efficiency and Flow VelocityGuansheng Liu0Lili Huo1Yongming Wu2Zhibing Yang3Jiacheng Xia4Hua Zhong5Ningbo Institute of Digital Twin Eastern Institute of Technology Ningbo ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaInstitute of Microbiology Jiangxi Academy of Sciences Nanchang ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaNingbo Institute of Digital Twin Eastern Institute of Technology Ningbo ChinaNingbo Institute of Digital Twin Eastern Institute of Technology Ningbo ChinaAbstract The transport of Fe‐based nanoparticles (Fe‐NPs) in porous media is of vital importance for application of Fe‐NPs in groundwater remediation, yet their low mobility remains an open question. Here, we conducted column and microfluidic transport experiments combined with rheology experiments and model simulations to investigate the effect of xanthan gum (XG) on the transport of two types of Fe‐NPs (nanoparticles of Fe3O4 (nFe3O4) and zero‐valent iron (nZVI)) in quartz sand at different input concentrations and flow velocities. We observed that the rheological modification of water by XG significantly enhanced the transport of both Fe‐NPs, and the transport of nZVI was better than that of nFe3O4. With the increase of input concentration of Fe‐NPs, the transport of nZVI slightly declined, whereas the transport of nFe3O4 initially increased and then decreased. The different responses of transport of nFe3O4 and nZVI to input concentrations were attributed to the unique shear‐thinning rheological properties of XG suspensions with each type of Fe‐NPs. We observed a novel non‐monotonic relation between transport efficiency and flow velocity, where the transport of both Fe‐NPs initially weakened and then enhanced as pore‐water velocity rose within a certain range. We demonstrated that the formation of a non‐flowing layer of XG on the surface of the porous medium was identified as the mechanism responsible for the non‐monotonic transport behavior. These findings provide new insights into transport behavior of Fe‐NPs in porous media under the rheological remediation of XG, and have practical implications for application of Fe‐NPs in groundwater remediation.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR039225nFe3O4nZVIxanthan gumrheological modificationparticle transport
spellingShingle Guansheng Liu
Lili Huo
Yongming Wu
Zhibing Yang
Jiacheng Xia
Hua Zhong
Transport of Fe‐Based Nanoparticles in Porous Media Facilitated by Xanthan Gum: Non‐Monotonic Relation Between Transport Efficiency and Flow Velocity
Water Resources Research
nFe3O4
nZVI
xanthan gum
rheological modification
particle transport
title Transport of Fe‐Based Nanoparticles in Porous Media Facilitated by Xanthan Gum: Non‐Monotonic Relation Between Transport Efficiency and Flow Velocity
title_full Transport of Fe‐Based Nanoparticles in Porous Media Facilitated by Xanthan Gum: Non‐Monotonic Relation Between Transport Efficiency and Flow Velocity
title_fullStr Transport of Fe‐Based Nanoparticles in Porous Media Facilitated by Xanthan Gum: Non‐Monotonic Relation Between Transport Efficiency and Flow Velocity
title_full_unstemmed Transport of Fe‐Based Nanoparticles in Porous Media Facilitated by Xanthan Gum: Non‐Monotonic Relation Between Transport Efficiency and Flow Velocity
title_short Transport of Fe‐Based Nanoparticles in Porous Media Facilitated by Xanthan Gum: Non‐Monotonic Relation Between Transport Efficiency and Flow Velocity
title_sort transport of fe based nanoparticles in porous media facilitated by xanthan gum non monotonic relation between transport efficiency and flow velocity
topic nFe3O4
nZVI
xanthan gum
rheological modification
particle transport
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR039225
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AT jiachengxia transportoffebasednanoparticlesinporousmediafacilitatedbyxanthangumnonmonotonicrelationbetweentransportefficiencyandflowvelocity
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