Simultaneous removal of nitrate and metronidazole (mnz) from aqueous solutions by using zero valent iron

In this thesis, using nano scale zero valent iron the removal of nitrate and metronidazole that can result in pollution water resource was evaluated in reduction condition. nZVI was synthesied by chemical reduction. The operation parameters such as pH, nZVI dosage, initial nitrate and metronidazole concentration and reaction time that provide optimum removal were determined. For both pollutants in terms of their removal rates, optimum pH was in the range of 5 and 7. For the efficient removal of nitrate and metronidazole, nZVI dosage was 0.8 and 1 g/L, respectively. After determining the parameters for efficient removal, the mechanism of metronidazole removal was evaluated. To assess the significance of adsorption process, desorption study was conducted. Since the amount of desorbed amount of metronidazole was very low we thought that metronidazole may be transformed to its by-product that can lead to reduction of main metronidazole molecule.