A pot experiment was conducted with multi-metal (Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn) contaminated acidic soil to investigate changes in available metal burden resulting from the application of industrial wastes (fly ash and steel slag). The efficiency of amendments-induced metal stabilization was evaluated by diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT), sequential extraction, and plant uptake. The stability of remediation was assessed by an acidification test and by chemical equilibrium modeling. Addition of fly ash (20 g kg-1 ) and steel slag (3 g kg-1 ) resulted in similar increase in soil pH. Both amendments significantly decreased the concentrations of metals measured with DGT (C DGT) and the metal uptake by Oryza sativa L. Significant correlations were found between C DGT and the concentration of a combination of metal fractions (exchangeable, bound to carbonates, and bound to Fe/Mn oxides), unraveling the labile species that participate in the flux of metal resupply. The capability of metal resupply, as reflected by the R (ratio of C DGT to pore water metal concentration) values, significantly decreased in the amended soils. The C DGT correlated well with the plant uptake, suggesting that DGT is a good indicator for bioavailability. Acidification raised the extractable metal concentration in amended soil but the concentration did not return to the pre-amendment level. Equilibrium modeling indicated that the soil amendments induced the precipitation of several Fe, Al and Ca minerals, which may play a positive role in metal stabilization. Chemical stabilization with alkaline amendments could be an effective and stable soil remediation strategy for attenuating metal bioavailability and reducing plant metal uptake.
Mechanisms of soil Pb immobilization by Bacillus subtilis DBM, a bacterial strain isolated from a heavy-metal-contaminated soil, were investigated. Adsorption and desorption experiments with living bacterial cells as well as dead cells revealed that both extracellular adsorption and intracellular accumulation were involved in the Pb2+removal from the liquid phase. Of the sequestered Pb(II), 8.5% was held by physical entrapment within the cell wall, 43.3% was held by ion-exchange, 9.7% was complexed with cell surface functional groups or precipitated on the cell surface, and 38.5% was intracellularly accumulated.Complexation of Pb2+with carboxyl, hydroxyl, carbonyl, amido, and phosphate groups was demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis. Precipitates of Pb5(PO4)3OH, Pb5(PO4)3Cl and Pb10(PO4)6(OH)2that formed on the cell surface during the biosorption process were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis. Transmission electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectroscopic analysis confirmed the presence of the Pb(II)precipitates and that Pb(II) could be sequestered both extracellularly and intracellularly.Incubation with B. subtilis DBM significantly decreased the amount of the weak-acid-soluble Pb fraction in a heavy-metal-contaminated soil, resulting in a reduction in Pb bioavailability, but increased the amount of its organic-matter-bound fraction by 71%. The ability of B.subtilis DBM to reduce the bioavailability of soil Pb makes it potentially useful for bacteria-assisted phytostabilization of multi-heavy-metal-contaminated soil.
Jun BaiXiuhong YangRuiying DuYanmei ChenShizhong WangRongliang Qiu
Environmental risks pertaining to contaminated soils have been well studied,while little attention has been paid to the risks of the soils after remediation. In this study,a concept model developed based on fuzzy set theory was applied to evaluate the uncertainties of three risk indicators,namely,plant growth,groundwater safety and human health,of a restored site that had been previously polluted by heavy metals. The concept model classified the grade and importance of risk factors by an 11-level ranking system and was able to yield a comprehensive risk result rather than multi-risk results for complex risk indicators. Modeling results showed that the risks to the three indicators were effectively reduced after the remediation. Moreover,great sensitivity of the risks was found related to the weight distribution among the three risk indicators. In general,the risks of both polluted and restored soils to the environment were in the order of groundwater safety > plant growth > human health. The model was proved to solve the problems of multi-risk results due to complex risk indicators that previously encountered by other researchers,which made it helpful in decision-making and management of restored soils.
WANG Shi-ZhongZHAO Zhi-HaoXIA BingQIU HaoJ.L.MORELQIU Rong-Liang
