The effects of non-stabilised and Na-carboxymethylcellulose-stabilised iron oxide nanoparticles on remediation of Co-contaminated soils

Abstract

A pot experiment was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of six types of non-stabilised and Na-carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)-stabilised iron oxide nanoparticles (α-FeOOH, α-Fe2O3, and Fe3O4) on the immobilisation of cobalt (Co) in a soil spiked with different concentrations of it (5, 25, 65, 125, 185 mg kg−1). Amendments were added to soil samples at the rate of 0.5%, and the samples incubated for 60-days. The addition of amendments significantly decreased the concentrations of DTPA-Co and MgCl2–Co, compared with the unamended control. The highest decrease in concentration of DTPA-Co and MgCl2–Co was obtained by the application of CMC-stabilised Fe3O4 (MC) when the concentration of soil total Co was low (5 and 25 mg kg−1) and by the use of CMC-stabilised α-FeOOH (GC) when the concentration of soil total Co was high (65, 125, and 185 mg kg−1), as compared to the control. CMC-stabilised iron oxide nanoparticles were more effective than non-stabilised nanoparticles in the immobilisation of Co. To investigate the effectiveness of iron oxide amendments on the chemical species of Co in the soil spiked with 65 mg kg−1 of this metal, sequential extraction was performed. The concentration of EXCH (exchangeable) and CARB (carbonate) bound fractions decreased significantly after treatment by different amendments. In particular, GC reduced the concentration of EXCH and CARB bound fractions by 20.87, and 17.52%, respectively, compared with the control. Also amendments significantly increased the concentration of FeMn-OX (Fe–Mn oxides), and OM (organic matter) bound, and RES (residual) fractions.