Effect of iron type on kinetics and carbon isotopic enrichment of chlorinated ethylenes during abiotic reduction on Fe(0)

Four samples of two commercially available iron brands used as substrate for iron permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) were tested for suitability for remediation of perchloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), cis‐dichloroethylene (cDCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). Kinetic studies indicate that rates of reaction are enhanced for cDCE and VC on Connelly iron (2.8 × 10−4 to 6.9 × 10−4 L/m2/hr and 2.0 × 10−4 to 9.0 × 10−4 L/m2/hr, for cDCE and VC, respectively) vs. Peerless iron (3.1 × 10−5 to 4.6 × 10−5 L/m2/hr and 2.4 × 10−5 to 4.1 × 10−5 L/m2/hr, for cDCE and VC, respectively). Carbon isotopic analyses of the residual chlorinated ethylene (CE) during degradation indicate significant fractionation occurs during reductive dechlorination, with, for example, up to 70 %o enrichment in carbon isotopic values observed when VC is more than 99% degraded. Comparison of fractionation factors (×) indicates significant differences in carbon isotopic fractionation for different iron types and for different CEs. For the lower CEs (cDCE and VC) in particular, both slower reaction rates and larger fractionation are observed for degradation on Peerless vs. Connelly iron. This is the first study to establish a correlation between the rate of abiotic degradation on Fe(0) and the extent of isotopic fractionation, and the first to confirm consistent differences in these two parameters as a function of iron type. The possibility that these differences in kinetics and carbon isotopic fractionation for cDCE and VC are related to differences in branching ratios between competing hydrogenolysis and β‐elimination reactions during reductive dechlorination on the iron surfaces is discussed.