Abstract
Land degradation by old mining activities is a concern worldwide. However, many known technologies are expensive and cannot be considered for mining soil restoration. Biochar amendment of mining soils is becoming an interesting alternative to traditional technologies due to an improvement in soil properties and metal mobility reduction. Biochar effects depend on soil and biochar properties, which in turn vary with pyrolysis conversion parameters and the feedstock used. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of four biochars prepared from poultry and rabbit manure at two pyrolysis temperatures (450 and 600 °C) in the trace metal mobility, CO2 emissions, and enzymatic activity of 10 mining soils located in three historical mining areas of Spain (Zarandas-Andalusia, Mijarojos-Cantabria, and Portman-Murcia). For this reason, soils were amended with biochars at a rate of 10% (w/w), and different treatments were incubated for 180 days. For acid soils of the Zarandas-Andalusia area, biochar addition reduced the mobility of Ni, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Cr, respectively, by 91%, 81%, 29%, 67%, and 70%. Nevertheless, biochars did not exhibit the same efficiency in the other two areas where alkaline soils were predominant. CO2 emissions generally increased in the treated soils. The application of biochars produced at 600 °C reduced CO2 emissions, in some cases by more than 28%, being an adequate strategy for C sequestration in soil. The results showed that application of manure biochars can be an effective technique to reduce the mobility of metals in multi-contaminated acid soils, while reducing metal toxicity for soil microorganisms.
Highlights
Mineral extraction and processing for metal production are associated with landscape modifications and an important environmental risk
Two manure wastes were selected as feedstock for biochar production, poultry litter (PL) and rabbit manure (RM), obtained from farms located in the practice field of Technical University of Madrid (Spain)
Biochar obtained after pyrolysis of PL showed the highest cation exchange capacity (CEC) values, whereas BRM600 exhibited lower CEC than RM waste
Summary
Mineral extraction and processing for metal production are associated with landscape modifications and an important environmental risk. Metalloids, organic compounds, and salts may be transferred to the soil, water, and air, affecting the trophic chain [1]. Impacts on soil derived from mining activities, including erosion, significant pH variations, runoff, or higher metal mobility, produce soil degradation and groundwater pollution risk. In order to mitigate the above-mentioned environmental impacts, new remediation and restoration techniques are required. Soil excavation [2], leaching of pollutants [3], electro-migration [4], soil-flushing [5], or the use of barrier technology [6] are used for this purpose. Most of them are still expensive and lead to total loss of soil fertility [7]
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