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Evaluation of three common alkaline agents for immobilization of multi-metals in a field-contaminated acidic soil

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Abstract

We investigated three common alkaline agents (NaOH, CaO, and Mg(OH)2) for immobilization of four heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd) in a field-contaminated soil and elucidated the underpinning principles. NaOH caused the highest pH spike in the soil, while CaO and Mg(OH)2 served as a longer-lasting source of OH-. Amending the soil with CaO or Mg(OH)2 at ≥0.1 mol as OH- (kg·soil)−1 for 24 h was able to immobilize all four metals, while NaOH failed. NaOH leached up to 3 times more organic carbon than CaO and Mg(OH)2, resulting in elevated leachability of the metals. Column elution tests showed that amendments by CaO and Mg(OH)2 lowered the leachable Pb2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ by 52–54%, 71–75%, 69–73%, and 68%, respectively, after 1440 pore volumes of elution. Sequential extraction revealed that the soil amendments converted the exchangeable fraction of the metals to the much less available forms. XRD and FTIR analyses indicated that formation of metal oxide precipitates and complexation with soil organic matter were responsible for the metals immobilization. Taken together the chemical cost, technical effectiveness, and environmental impact, CaO is the most suitable alkaline agent for remediation of soil contaminated with heavy metals.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Yan Pan, Changdong Ke, Kai Chen, Xiang Peng, Jianle Wang, and Chucheng He for their assistances.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Funding

The study was partially supported by the Guangdong Innovative and Entrepreneurial Research Team Program (No. 2016ZT06N569), Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou (202102010109), the Pearl River Talent Program of Guangdong Province (2017GC010331), the Auburn University IGP program, and the China Scholarship Council (Grant No. CSC201906150048).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Zhiliang Li, Zhi Dang & Zhang Lin

  2. Environmental Engineering Program, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Zhiliang Li & Dongye Zhao

  3. School of Environment, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 511443, China

    Yanyan Gong

  4. The Key Lab of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Ministry of Education, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Zhi Dang & Zhang Lin

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  1. Zhiliang Li
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  4. Zhi Dang
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  5. Zhang Lin
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Contributions

ZLL carried out the experiments, data analysis, data curation, and draft manuscript writing. YG and DZ initiated the concept, advised the research, and finalize the manuscript. ZD and ZL co-supervised the research and acquired and managed partial funding. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yanyan Gong or Dongye Zhao.

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Li, Z., Gong, Y., Zhao, D. et al. Evaluation of three common alkaline agents for immobilization of multi-metals in a field-contaminated acidic soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 60765–60777 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14670-3

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