EVANS CITY, PA, May 16, 2008 -- Two studies featuring Zero-Valent (ZV)-Iron Microspheres from BASF will be presented at the Sixth International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds, May 19-22, in Monterey, California. The Conference is sponsored by Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio.

ZV-Iron Microspheres are small particles of carbonyl iron powder that can be used alone or with other technologies to facilitate remediation of contaminated groundwater. ZV-Iron Microspheres, which are non-toxic, react with various types of contaminants and decompose them to less toxic by-products.

Jennifer P. Martin, a consultant with Arcadis U.S. Inc., Newtown, Pennsylvania, will lead a presentation titled “Treatment of Chlorinated Ethenes in Low pH Groundwater with Mircoscale ZV-Iron and Molasses.” The focus of this paper is the use of enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD) to treat chlorinated ethenes in groundwater at a former industrial facility in Virginia.  

Nanjun Shetty, an engineer with ENSR Corporation, Raleigh, North Carolina, will present a poster session that examines a remediation project at a former manufacturing facility in western North Carolina that used ZV-Iron Microspheres for the reductive de-chlorination of chlorinated ethenes, ethanes and methanes in a saprolite aquifer.

“ZV-Iron Microspheres are being used successfully for groundwater remediation applications,” said Mike Schulz, Product Manager, Inorganics, for BASF. “These small, spherical particles travel through the soil more easily than other, larger randomly-shaped types of iron when injected, and are a potentially economical alternative to solutions using bimetallic nano-scale iron.”

ZV-Iron Microspheres are at least 97.5 percent pure iron and have a high specific surface area due to their smaller iron particle size of less than10 microns. For more information regarding ZV-Iron Microspheres, call 724-538-1374, or e-mail inorganicsinfo@basf.com .

The International Conference on Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds has become one of the world’s leading environmental remediation conferences. The 2008 conference is expected to offer more than 50 technical sessions, consisting of platform talks and poster presentations. Major issues in remediation will be explored by panel discussions. Several dozen companies, universities, and government agencies engaged in remediation-related work will provide exhibits. A student paper competition will be conducted, and short courses will be offered.

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