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Removal of Pb, Zn, and Cd from contaminated soil by new washing agent from plant material

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Abstract

Soil washing is an effective approach to remove soil heavy metals, and the washing agent is generally regarded as one of the primary factors in the process, but there is still a lack of efficient and eco-friendly agents for this technique. Here, we showed that four plant washing agents—from water extracts of Coriaria nepalensis (CN), Clematis brevicaudata (CB), Pistacia weinmannifolia (PW), and Ricinus communis (RC)—could be feasible agents for the removal of soil lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd). The metal removal efficiencies of the agents increased with their concentrations from 20 to 80 g L−1, decreased with the increasing solution pH, and presented different trends with the reaction time increasing. CN among the four agents had the highest removal efficiencies of soil Pb (62.02%) and Zn (29.18%) but owned the relatively low Cd removal efficiencies (21.59%). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the abilities of plant washing agents for the removal of soil heavy metals may result from bioactive substances with specific functional groups such as –COOH, −NH2, and −OH. Our study provided CN as the best washing agents for the remediation of contaminated soil by heavy metals.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Projects of Sci-tech Support, Sichuan, China (No. 2014NZ0044), and the Projects of National Sci-tech Support, China (2012BAD14B18-2). The authors also acknowledge the contribution of Ping Yao, Chuer Zhang, Qinmei Zhong, Linxian Li, Yue Chen, Yijun Wang, Rui Ma, and Guangrong Xu of Sichuan Agricultural University in supporting the investigation and research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, 611130, China

    Yaru Cao, Shirong Zhang, Guiyin Wang & Xiaoxun Xu

  2. Sichuan Dadishanchuan Environmental Engineering Co. Ltd, Jinniu, 610000, China

    Qinling Huang

  3. College of Resources, Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, 611130, China

    Ting Li

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  1. Yaru Cao
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  2. Shirong Zhang
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  3. Guiyin Wang
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Correspondence to Shirong Zhang.

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Cao, Y., Zhang, S., Wang, G. et al. Removal of Pb, Zn, and Cd from contaminated soil by new washing agent from plant material. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 8525–8533 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8542-3

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