Interactive Effects of Inorganic–Organic Compounds on Passivation of Cadmium in Weakly Alkaline Soil

Abstract

The availability of cadmium (Cd) in soils is an important factor affecting the safe production of crops. The application of certain soil amendments could reduce the soil Cd availability via the passivation of Cd. However, the passivation of Cd in alkaline soils is limited. Thus, different inorganic and organic amendments and their compound treatments were selected as passivators for reducing the Cd availability in a weakly alkaline farmland soil. The effects of different single and compound amendments on the soil pH and Cd availability, as well as the interactions between inorganic and organic components in immobilizing Cd, were evaluated. The results showed that the inorganic–organic compound amendments can considerably improve the Cd passivation efficiency in the weakly alkaline soil. Moreover, the inorganic and organic components in the compound amendments exerted different synergistic effects in Cd passivation. The manganese dioxide-based compound amendments showed the most remarkable synergistic effects, while the calcium–magnesium–phosphate fertilizer-based compound amendments displayed the weakest synergistic effects. The underlying mechanisms regarding the synergistic effects may be that the compound amendments enhanced the adsorption/specific adsorption, co-precipitation, and surface complexation of Cd in the alkaline soil. A more balanced recommendation for Cd immobilization in the weakly alkaline soil may be manganese dioxide-based compound amendments, given the synergistic effects and Cd immobilization capabilities of various compound materials. This study may provide a theoretical foundation for the passivation remediation of alkaline Cd-contaminated farmland soils by using inorganic–organic compound amendments.