Skip to main content
Log in

Humic acid coupled with coal gasification slag for enhancing the remediation of Cd-contaminated soil under alternated light/dark cycle

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this study, the synthesis of a coal gasification slag-humic acid (SA) hybrid was purposed for the remediation of cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soil. In order to investigate the effect of SA on the Cd-contaminated soil and plant growth, a series of experiments were carried out under different illumination condition. The results showed that the SA has some the photocatalytic activity, and adding 10 wt% of SA to the soil could obviously improve the soil fertility and decrease the mobility of Cd in the soil under alternated light/dark cycle (12L/12D); the content of the residual fraction in the SA-amended soil reached 69.5%, and the Cd decreasing rates for the leaf, stem, and root of Artemisia ordosica were near 100%, 91.3%, and 75.3%, respectively. Characterizations of amendments suggested that the synergistic effect of precipitation and surface complexation played a major role in the remediation of Cd-contaminated soil.

Graphical abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Not applicable.

References

  • Ali AS, Khan I, Zhang B, Nomura K, Homonnay Z, Kuzmann E, Scrimshire A, Bingham PA, Krehula S, Musić S, Akiyama K, Kubuki S (2020) Photo-Fenton degradation of methylene blue using hematite-enriched slag under visible light. J Radioanal Nucl Ch 325:537–549

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Du M, Liu H, Hu D, Huang J, Liu Z, Fang Y (2020) The leaching mechanism of heavy metals (Ni, Cd, As) in a gasification slag during acidification. Waste Manage 114:17–24

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deng J, Liu Y, Liu S, Zeng G, Yan Z (2017) Competitive adsorption of Pb(II), Cd(II) and Cu(II) onto chitosan-pyromellitic dianhydride modified biochar. J Colloid Interface Sci 506:355–364

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gabrijel O, Davor R, Zed R (2019) Interactions of humates and chlorides with cadmium drive soil cadmium chemistry and uptake by radish cultivars. Sci Total Environ. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134887

  • Huang X, Zhao Q, Young RP, Zhang X (2020) Photo-production of reactive oxygen species and degradation of dissolved organic matter by hematite nanoplates functionalized by adsorbed oxalate. Environ Sci: Nano 7:2278–2292

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jha P, Neenu S, Rashmi I, Meena BP, Jatav RC, Lakaria BL, Biswas AK, Singh M, Patra AK (2016) Ameliorating effects of leucaena biochar on soil acidity and exchangeable ions. Commun Soil Sci Plan 47(10):1252–1262

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jin HP, Girish KC, Nanthi SB, Jae WC, Thammared C (2011) Biochar reduces the bioavailability and phytotoxicity of heavy metals. Plant Soil 348(1–2):439–451

    Google Scholar 

  • Karakurt Y, Unlu H, Unlu H, Padem H (2009) The influence of foliar and soil fertilization of humic acid on yield and quality of pepper. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica. Section B-Plant Soil Sci 59:233–237

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kiran YK, Barkat A, Cui X, Feng Y, Stoffella PJ, Tang L, Yang X (2017) Effect of humic acid amendment on cadmium bioavailability and accumulation by pak choi (Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis L.) to alleviate dietary toxicity risk. Arch Agron Soil Sci 63(10):1431–1442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo J, Liang J, Song Y, Guo X, Ning Y, Liu N, Zhao H, Li T (2021) Compounded chelating agent derived from fruit residue extracts effectively enhances Cd phytoextraction by Sedum alfredii. Soil Ecol Lett 3(3):253–265

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo M, Lin H, He Y, Zhang Y (2020) The influence of corncob-based biochar on remediation of arsenic and cadmium in yellow soil and cinnamon soil. Sci Total Environ. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lv J, Miao Y, Huang Z, Han R, Zhang S (2018) Facet-mediated adsorption and molecular fractionation of humic substances on hematite surfaces. Environ Sci Technol 52(20):11660–11669

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Pei G, Qiao X, Zhu Y, Li H (2018a) Remediation of cadmium contaminated water and soil using vinegar residue biochar. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 25:15754–15764

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Liu Y, Zuo R, Teng YG, Ai Y, Yang J (2018b) Influences of dissolved humic acid on Zn bioavailability and its consequences for thyroid toxicity. Ecotox Environ Safe 166:132–137

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz SE, Hamon RE, Holm PE, Domingues HC, Sequeira EM, Christensen TH, McGrath SP (1997) Cadmium and zinc in plants and soil solutions from contaminated soils. Plant Soil 189(1):21–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu W, Chen XM, Jing F (2020) Effects of applying bioorganic fertilizer on chemical form and transport characteristics in soil-rice system. Bull Soil Water Conserv 40(1):78–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Melnikov P, Nascimento VA, Arkhangelsky IV, Zanoni Consolo LZ, de Oliveira LCS (2014) Thermal decomposition mechanism of iron (III) nitrate and characterization of intermediate products by the technique of computerized modeling. J Therm Anal Calorim 115:145–151

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nishida T, Kubuki S (2017) Visible-light activated photocatalytic effect of glass and glass ceramic prepared by recycling waste slag with hematite. Pure Appl Chem 89:535–554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park J, Cho KH, Ligaray M, Choi MJ (2019) Organic matter composition of manure and its potential impact on plant growth, sustainability. MDPI 11(8):1–12

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Polak J, Bartoszek M, Zadto M, Kos A, Sulkowski WW (2011) The spectroscopic studies of humic acid extracted from sediment collected at different seasons. Chemosphere 84(11):1548–1555

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Quan G, Fan Q, Cui L, Zimmerman AR, Wang H, Zhu Z, Gao B, Wu L, Yan J (2020) Simulated photocatalytic aging of biochar in soil ecosystem: Insight into organic carbon release, surface physicochemical properties and cadmium sorption. Environ Res. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riaz A, Khattak HK, Dost M (2013) Mechanism(s) of humic acid induced beneficial effects in salt-affected soils. Acad J 8(21):932–939

    Google Scholar 

  • Ren D (2019) Study on the role of light irradiation in enhancing the bioavailability of humic acid. Sichuan Environ 38(2):15–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Stahl JD, Cameron MD, Haselbach J, Aust SD (2000) Biodegradation of superabsorbent polymers in soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 7:83–88

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharpless CM, Aeschbacher M, Page SE (2014) Photooxidation-induced changes in optical, electrochemical, and photochemical properties of humic substances. Environ Sci Technol 48(5):2688–2696

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shentu J, He Z, Yang X, Li TQ (2008) Accumulation properties of cadmium in a selected vegetable-rotation system of south eastern China. J Agric Food Chem 56:6382–6388

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stefánsson A (2007) Iron(III) Hydrolysis and Solubility at 25 °C. Environ Sci Technol 41(17):6117–6123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tian G, Wang W, Zong L (2017) MgO/palygorskite adsorbent derived from natural Mg-rich brine and palygorskite for high-efficient removal of Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions. J Environ Chem Eng 5:1027–1036

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Tang C, Wu J, Liu X, Xu J (2013) Impact of organic matter addition on pH change of paddy soils. J Soils Sediments 13:12–23

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu F, Deng S (2000) Photochemistry of hydrolytic iron (III) species and photoinduced degradation of organic compounds A minireview. Chemosphere 41(8):1137–1147

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang Y, Kang F, Xiang Y, Jiao Y (2019) Effects of humic acid-modified magnetic Fe3O4/MgAl-layered double hydroxide on the plant growth, soil enzyme activity, and metal availability. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang Y, Xiang Y, Wang L, Li X (2018) Effects of sewage sludge modified by coal gasification slag and electron beam irradiation on the growth of Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. and transfer of heavy metals. Environ Sci Pollut R 25:11636–11645

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang YL, Xiang Y, Wang LP, Zhang ZF (2016) Effects of modified excess sludge on the growth of Artemisia ordosica and transformation of heavy metals. Water Air Soil Pollut 227(4):1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang Y, Xiang Y, Jiao Y, Wang L (2020) Effect of sludge amino acid-modified magnetic coal gasification slag on plant growth, metal availability, and soil enzyme activity. J Soil Water Conserv 75(4):515–526

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiang J, Lin Q, Yao X, Yin G (2021) Removal of Cd from aqueous solution by chitosan coated MgO-biochar and its in-situ remediation of Cd-contaminated soil. Environ. Res. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110650

  • Xing L, Wen J, Yan C, Wang Q, Hu X, Xue Z (2021) Improving the microenvironment of Cd-contaminated river sediments through humic substances washing and zeolite immobilization. Process Saf Environ 146:779–788

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu H, Zhao P, Ran Q, Li W, Zhang R (2021) Enhanced electrokinetic remediation for Cd-contaminated clay soil by addition of nitric acid, acetic acid, and EDTA: Effects on soil micro-ecology. Sci Total Environ. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu M, Zhao Z, Shi M, Yao L, Fan T, Wang Z (2019) Effect of humic acid on the stabilization of cadmium in soil by coprecipitating with ferrihydrite. Environ Sci Pollut 26:27330–27337

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu JQ, Yu RL, Dong XY, Hu GR, Shang XS, Wang Q, Li HW (2012) Effects of municipal sewage sludge stabilized by fly ash on the growth of Manilagrass and transfer of heavy metals. J Hazard Mater 217–218:58–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang Z, Fang Z, Zheng L, Cheng W, Tsang PE, Fang J, Zhao D (2016) Remediation of lead contaminated soil by biochar-supported nano- hydroxyapatite. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 132:224–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan N, Zhao A, Hu Z, Tan K, Zhang J (2022) Preparation and application of porous materials from coal gasification slag for wastewater treatment: A review. Chemosphere. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao L, Cao X, Zheng W, Wang Q, Yang F (2015) Endogenous minerals have influences on surface electrochemistry and ion exchange properties of biochar. Chemosphere 136:133–139

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou T, Wu L, Christie P, Luo Y, Fornara DA (2018) The efficiency of Cd phytoextraction by S. plumbizincicola increased with the addition of rice straw to polluted soils: the role of particulate organic matter. Plant Soil 429:321–333

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu D, Miao S, Xue B, Jiang Y, Wei C (2019) Effect of coal gasification fine slag on the physicochemical properties of soil. Water Air Soil Pollut 230(155):5–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu D, Cheng Y, Xue B, Jiang Y, Wei C (2020) Coal gasification fine slag as a low-cost adsorbent for adsorption and desorption of humic acid. SILICON 12:1547–1556

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang T (2021) Study on the adsorption and deradation performance of modified lignin-based porous carbon for heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Shandong Agr Univ. https://doi.org/10.27277/d.cnki.gsdnu.2021.000796

  • Zhang H, Zhao Y, Qi J (2010) Characterization of heavy metals in fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators in Shanghai. Process Saf Environ Prot 88:114–124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Funding and support were provided by the following projects: National Natural Science Foundation of China (41,967,022, 42,107,446), The Joint Fund of the Yulin University and the Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (YLU-DNL Fund 2,021,019), The Key Laboratory Project of Shaanxi Provincial Education Department in China (21JS047).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Yulin Xiang: investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition, supervision, project administration, conceptualization, methodology. Yuxiu Xiang: software, data curation. Xuchun Gao: visualization.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yulin Xiang.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

All the authors are willing to publish this paper in ESPR.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Kitae Baek

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xiang, Y., Xiang, Y. & Gao, X. Humic acid coupled with coal gasification slag for enhancing the remediation of Cd-contaminated soil under alternated light/dark cycle. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 1276–1287 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22308-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22308-1

Keywords

Navigation