NanoRem Announces Initial Ecotoxicity Results

Taking Nanotechnological Remediation Processes from Lab Scale to End User Applications for the Restoration of a Clean Environment (NanoRem) is a research project funded through the European Commission (EC) FP7. On May 6, 2015, NanoRem issued a press release announcing that no significant toxicological effects were found on soil or water organisms when ecotoxicological tests were undertaken for a range of nanoparticles that could be used for remediation projects:

• NanoFer 25S, made from nanoscale zero-valent iron, used for the remediation of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the large scale flume pilot experiment, and at Spolchemie I, Czech Republic;
• Carbo-Iron, a composite made from activated carbon and zero-valent iron, to be used for the remediation of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the large-scale flume pilot experiment, and at Balassagyarmat, Hungary;
• Fe-Oxide, nanoscale goethite, used for the remediation of toluene in the large-scale container pilot experiment, and at Spolchemie II, Czech Republic;
• Fe-Zeolites, aluminosilicate containing an iron catalyst, used in lab-scale remediation studies; and
• Bionanomagnetite, with and without five percent Pd, nanomagnetite produced by bacteria, used in lab-scale remediation studies.

Ecotoxicity testing will continue for any new nanoparticles or formulations developed as the NanoRem project progresses.