Thermal Processing of Iron Sand as a Low-Cost Zero-Valent Iron Precursor for Groundwater Remediation
Description
This dataset supports a study evaluating whether iron sand from Pantai Panjang (Panjang Beach), Bengkulu, Indonesia, can serve as a low-cost, locally sourced zero-valent iron (ZVI) precursor for groundwater remediation. The underlying hypothesis is that a reagent-free thermal processing route can modify the mineralogy of iron sand without raising its reactive iron (Fe) content above the pre-heating baseline, thereby preserving the composition required for a usable ZVI precursor. Data were gathered experimentally from eight sand samples collected by proportional random sampling along the beach to capture spatial variation in iron content. Each sample was dried, weighed to a 50 g target, magnetically separated, and heated at two power levels (300 W, 300–420 °C; 600 W, 430–500 °C). Mass was recorded at four stages: after drying, after magnetic separation, after 300 W heating, and after 600 W heating. Elemental composition—iron (Fe), the balance fraction (Bal = Si + Al), titanium (Ti), and 14 trace elements—was measured by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) before heating and after heating at 350 °C and 450 °C. The dataset comprises: (1) X-ray fluorescence (XRF) elemental composition results before and after thermal processing, (2) sample mass measurements across all processing stages, (3) list of required research equipment, and (4) documentation of the experimental procedure. Notable findings: heating produced a consistent inverse relationship between Fe and Bal—Fe declined as Si + Al increased—while Ti remained stable (4.2–6.4%) and all trace elements stayed below 1%. Samples 3, 4, 5, and 8 showed a clean monotonic Fe decline; Samples 1, 2, and 6 rebounded slightly at 450 °C but stayed below their pre-heating Fe. Because post-heating Fe did not exceed the pre-heating baseline, Samples 1–6 and 8 retained a usable precursor composition; only Sample 7, whose Fe rose above baseline, was excluded. How to interpret and use the data: pre-heating Fe indicates starting feedstock quality, while post-heating values show how thermal conditions redistribute Fe relative to the silicate matrix. A sample is treated as a viable ZVI precursor when its post-heating Fe remains at or below the pre-heating level. Researchers can use the data to compare thermal processing conditions, assess the spatial heterogeneity of coastal iron sand, benchmark XRF-based screening of ZVI feedstocks, or design follow-up work (e.g., XRD/SEM phase analysis and direct ZVI reactivity testing). The data are descriptive: no statistical software was applied, so values should be read as comparative measurements across stages and heating conditions rather than as inferential statistics.
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Institutions
- Diponegoro UniversityCentral Java, Semarang