Effects of fine fractions of soil organic, semi-organic, and inorganic amendments on the mitigation of heavy metal(loid)s leaching and bioavailability in a post-mining area

Zahra Derakhshan Nejad; Shahabaldin Rezania; Myung Chae Jung; Abdullah Ahmed Al-Ghamdi; Abd El-Zaher M A Mustafa; Mohamed Soliman Elshikh

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129538

Effects of fine fractions of soil organic, semi-organic, and inorganic amendments on the mitigation of heavy metal(loid)s leaching and bioavailability in a post-mining area

Chemosphere. 2021 May:271:129538. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129538. Epub 2021 Jan 5.

Authors

Zahra Derakhshan Nejad¹, Shahabaldin Rezania², Myung Chae Jung³, Abdullah Ahmed Al-Ghamdi⁴, Abd El-Zaher M A Mustafa⁴, Mohamed Soliman Elshikh⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Energy Resources and Geosystem Engineering, College of Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul, 05006, South Korea. Electronic address: derakhshan85@sejong.ac.kr.
² Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul, 05006, South Korea.
³ Department of Energy Resources and Geosystem Engineering, College of Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul, 05006, South Korea.
⁴ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 33453484
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129538

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of soil amendments including biomasses (rice husk, RRH and maple leaf, RML), biochar (rice husk biochar, RHB and maple leaf biochar, MLB), and industrial by-products (red mud, RM and steel slag, SS), at two application rates (0, 1, and 2% w/w) on leaching and bioavailability of heavy metal(loid)s (HMs) (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in the presence of an Asteraceae (i.e., lettuce). Physicochemical properties of the soil (i.e., pH, EC, CEC, and HMs leaching) and plants were examined before and after amending. The addition of amendments significantly (p < 0.05) increased soil EC (from 100 to 180 μScm^-1) and CEC (from 7.6 to 15 meq100 g^-1). Soil pH from 6.7 ± 0.05 increased about 2 units with increasing in the application rate of MLB, RM, and SS, while it decreased about 0.8 units in RML amended soil. Soil amendments reduced the easily leachable fractions (exchangeable and carbonate) of HMs in the order of MLB > SS > RM > RHB. The average concentration of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in plant roots and shoots decreased >30 wt% in biochars and industrial by-products amended soils, while biomasses mitigated As uptake in lettuce. Results demonstrated that adding maple-derived biochar combined with revegetation effectively immobilized HMs in a post-mining area beside an induce in plant growth parameters.

Keywords: Bioavailability; Biochar; Heavy metal(loid)s; Industrial by-products; Metal speciation; Remediation.

MeSH terms

Biological Availability
Charcoal
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Mining
Soil
Soil Pollutants* / analysis

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Soil
Soil Pollutants
Charcoal