Remediation Of Cu Contaminated Soils Research Articles

Phytomanagement and Remediation of Cu-Contaminated Soils by High Yielding Crops at a Former Wood Preservation Site: Sunflower Biomass and Ionome

This long-term field trial aimed at remediating a Cu-contaminated soil to promote crop production and soil functions at a former wood preservation site. Twenty-eight field plots with total topsoil Cu in the 198-1,169 mg kg-1 range were assessed. Twenty-four plots (OMDL) were amended in 2008 with a compost (made of pine bark chips and poultry manure, OM, 5% w/w) and dolomitic limestone (DL, 0.2%), and thereafter annually phytomanaged with a sunflower-tobacco crop rotation. In 2013, one untreated plot (UNT) was amended with a green waste compost (GW, 5%) whereas 12 former OMDL plots received a second compost dressing using this green waste compost (OM2DL, 5%). In 2011, one plot was amended with the Carmeuse basic slag (CAR, 1%) and another plot with a P-spiked Linz-Donawitz basic slag (PLD, 1%). Thus six soil treatments, i.e., UNT, OMDL, OM2DL, GW, CAR, and PLD, were cultivated in 2016 with sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cv Ethic). Shoots were harvested and their ionome analyzed. At high soil Cu contamination, the 1M NH4NO3-extractable vs. total soil Cu ratio ranked in decreasing order: Unt (2.35) > CAR (1.02), PLD (0.83) > GW (0.58), OMDL (0.44), OM2DL (0.37), indicating a lower Cu extractability in the compost-amended plots. All amendments improved the soil nutrient status and the soil pH, which was slightly acidic in the UNT soil. Total organic C and N and extractable P contents peaked in the OM2DL soils. Both OMDL and OM2DL treatments led to higher shoot DW yields and Cu removals than the GW, CAR, and PLD treatments. Shoot DW yields decreased as total topsoil Cu rose in the OMDL plots, on the contrary to the OM2DL plots, demonstrating the benefits to repeat compost application after 5 years. Shoot Cu concentrations notably of OMDL and OM2DL plants fitted into their common range and can be used by biomass processing technologies and oilseeds as well. In overall, there is a net gain in soil physico-chemical properties and underlying soil functions

Distribution and mobility of exogenous copper as influenced by aging and components interactions in three Chinese soils.

Copper contamination of soils is a global environmental problem. Soil components (organic matter, clay minerals, and microorganisms) and retention time can govern the adsorption, fixation, and distribution of copper. This study evaluated the interaction effects of soil components and aging on the distribution of exogenous copper. Three typical Chinese soils (Ultisol, Alfisol, and Histosol) were collected from Hunan, Henan, and Heilongjiang Provinces. Soils were incubated with rice straw (RS) and engineered bacteria (Pseudomonas putida X4/pIME) in the presence of exogenous copper for 12months. Sequential extraction was employed to obtain the distribution of Cu species in soils, and the mobility factors of Cu were calculated. The relationships between soil properties and Cu fractions were analyzed with stepwise multiple linear regression. The results show that organic carbon plays a more important role in shaping the distribution of relatively mobile Cu, and iron oxides can be more critical in stabilizing Cu species in soils. Our results suggest that organic matter is the most important factor influencing copper partitioning in Ultisols, while iron oxides are more significant in Alfisols. The mobility of exogenous Cu in soils depends largely on organic carbon, amorphous Fe, and aging. The introduction of both rice straw and rice straw + engineered bacteria enhanced the stabilization of Cu in all the three soils during aging process. The introduction of bacteria could reduce copper mobility, which was indicated by the lowest mobility factors of Cu for the treatment with bacteria in Black, Red, and Cinnamon soils at the first 4, 8, and 8months, respectively. Different measures should be taken into account regarding the content of organic matter and iron oxides depending on soil types for the risk assessment and remediation of Cu-contaminated soils.

Remediation of Cu-contaminated soil using chelant and EAOP

An electrochemical advanced oxidation process (EAOP) was used for treatment of the washing solution obtained during leaching of Cu (364 ± 2 mg kg−1) contaminated soil, with chelant S,S isomer of ethylenediamine disuccinate ([S,S]-EDDS). In the EAOP (constant current density 40 mA cm−2), a boron-doped diamond anode was used for the generation of hydroxyl radicals and oxidative decomposition of [S,S]-EDDS-metal complexes in the washing solution. The released Cu was mostly electro-deposited on the stainless-steel cathode. Three consecutive additions of 5 mmol kg−1 [S,S]-EDDS removed 46% of the Cu from the soil, mostly from carbonate and oxide soil fractions (87 and 99% Cu reduction). The soil Cu oral availability in the simulated stomach and intestinal phases (in vitro physiologically based extraction test) was reduced by 5.5 and 4.6-times. Cu plant availability (in vitro diethylenetriamine pentaacetate test) was reduced by 3.6-times. The discharge solution was clear, almost colorless, with pH 8.4, 0.45 mg L−1 Cu and 0.01 mM EDDS.