Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of natural zeolite amendment to contaminated soil on the heavy metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn) simulated bioavailability over a three-month period of storage. Two pot experiments were created by amending soil with two different amounts of natural zeolite (3 and 6 wt.%). During the experiment, pH level, metal concentrations in soil solution (Csol) and metal concentrations in soil by the diffusive gradients in thin-films technique (CDGT) were determined. When the zeolite was added to the soil, a significant decrease (p = 95%, n = 3) for Cd and Pb concentrations, both in Csol and in CDGT, was observed. The Cu, Cr and Zn concentrations also showed a decreasing trend, but the changes in their concentrations were not statistically significant. The R ratio between CDGT and Csol was calculated for each metal in order to assess the resupply of metals from the soil solid phase to soil solution. The R values significantly decreased for Cd and Pb, showing a low resupply from the solid phase in the samples with added zeolite.
Highlights
Metals originate in the soil environment from natural sources and different anthropogenic activities, such as mining and metallurgical processes, chemical industry, agriculture, waste disposal, etc. [1]
The metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn) immobilization by zeolite was tested in pot experiments using different natural zeolite amounts (3 and 6 wt.%), after three months of storage
The efficiency of the addition of different amounts of natural zeolite in reducing the bioavailability of heavy metals in a contaminated soil was evaluated by the Diffusive Gradient in Thin films (DGT) technique
Summary
Metals originate in the soil environment from natural sources and different anthropogenic activities, such as mining and metallurgical processes, chemical industry, agriculture, waste disposal, etc. [1]. Metal pollution of soil is an increasingly pressing problem all over the world since, beside their toxicity, metals are almost not degradable, persist for a long period of time in the environment, and have a high bioaccumulation capacity [2,3,4]. Some metals, such as Cd, Cr, Pb, and Hg, are non-essential elements and become hazardous even at very low concentrations, while some essential elements, such as Cu and Zn, become toxic for the ecosystems and human health at high concentrations [5,6].
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