Aminated electrospun nanofiber membrane as permeable reactive barrier material for effective in-situ Cr(VI) contaminated soil remediation

Electrokinetic remediation (EKR) combined permeable reactive barrier (PRB) is an emerging technique for the in-situ hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) heavy metal contaminated soil remediation. In the EKR-PRB technique, PRB materials with high Cr(VI) adsorption capacity and regenerability are severe desired. Here, a promising PRB material of aminated electrospun nanofiber membrane (ENFM) was synthesized by a facile short time thermal treatment of an hyperbranched polyethylenimine (HPEI)-enriched polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ENFM. The as-prepared PAN/HPEI ENFM exhibited a remarkable Cr(VI) adsorption capacity (~206 mg g−1) and excellent reusability (>9 cycles) owing to its amine group-rich membrane surface and interpenetrating porous structure. More importantly, a bench-scale Cr(VI) contaminated soil remediation test using a EKR-PRB technique showed that this PAN/HPEI ENFM could effectively immobilize and remove the Cr(VI) in soil.