Pradeep Shukla (PhD Student)
Curtin University of Technology

Project Title
Development of Permeable Reactive Barrier for degradation of Toxic Organic Pollutants and from Subsurface Water

Biography
Pradeep is currently earning his PhD in Chemical Engineering at Curtin University of Technology. He earned his Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering and later earned his Masters degree in Environmetal Engineering with Distinction. His research interests are in the area of Environmental Management System and Adsorption Technology. His current research is focused on Groundwater remediation by application of Reactive Barrier.

Start Date
September 2006

Project Details
Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) is the most recent innovation in ground water treatment technologies. The current research is focused on development of Permeable Reactive Barrier for the treatment of ground water based on simultaneous adsorption and oxidative removal of contaminants. Various researches had been done earlier in different kinds of PRB media, but not much attention has been given to simultaneous adsorption-oxidation technique. The project involves developing a novel and cheaper material as effective adsorbent and active catalyst for permeable reactive barrier and designing a single process as permeable reactive barrier for removal of both heavy metals and organics. This technology has enormous potential for ground water remediation and is an economical alternative to the current Pump and Treatment method. This project will provide a fundamental principle in design and deployment of PRB’s and a pilot demonstration for full scale application.