Application of zeolites in permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) for in-situ groundwater remediation: A critical review

Permeable reactive barrier (PRB) is one of the most promising in-situ groundwater remediation technologies due to its low costs and wide immobilization suitability for multiple contaminants. Reactive medium is a key component of PRBs and their selection needs to consider removal effectiveness as well as permeability. Zeolites have been extensively reported as reactive media owing to their high adsorption capacity, diverse pore structure and high stability. Moreover, the application of zeolites can reduce the PRBs fouling and clogging compared to reductants like zero-valence iron (ZVI) due to no formation of secondary precipitates, such as iron monosulfide, in spite of their reactivity to remove organics. This study gives a detailed review of lab-scale applications of zeolites in PRBs in terms of…