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Citric acid- and Tween® 80-assisted phytoremediation of a co-contaminated soil: alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) performance and remediation potential

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Abstract

A pot experiment was designed to assess the phytoremediation potential of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in a co-contaminated (i.e., heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons) soil and the influence of citric acid and Tween® 80 (polyethylene glycol sorbitan monooleate), applied individually and combined together, for their possible use in chemically assisted phytoremediation. The results showed that alfalfa plants could tolerate and grow in a co-contaminated soil. Over a 90-day experimental time, shoot and root biomass increased and negligible plant mortality occurred. Heavy metals were uptaken by alfalfa to a limited extent, mostly by plant roots, and their concentration in plant tissues were in the following order: Zn > Cu > Pb. Microbial population (alkane-degrading microorganisms) and activity (lipase enzyme) were enhanced in the presence of alfalfa with rhizosphere effects of 9.1 and 1.5, respectively, after 90 days. Soil amendments did not significantly enhance plant metal concentration or total uptake. In contrast, the combination of citric acid and Tween® 80 significantly improved alkane-degrading microorganisms (2.4-fold increase) and lipase activity (5.3-fold increase) in the rhizosphere of amended plants, after 30 days of experiment. This evidence supports a favorable response of alfalfa in terms of tolerance to a co-contaminated soil and improvement of rhizosphere microbial number and activity, additionally enhanced by the joint application of citric acid and Tween® 80, which could be promising for future phytoremediation applications.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the financial support provided by French Île-de-France region and European Commission (Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Programme ETeCoS3: Environmental Technologies for Contaminated Solids, Soils and Sediments, under the grant agreement FPA n°2010-0009). A.C. Agnello acknowledges the Mediterranean Office for Youth (MOY), which granted a 10-month mobility fellowship in the frame of the MOY labeled programs n°2010/038. Finally, the authors appreciate the contribution of Iwona M’Kenzie Hall, who provided English assistance during the preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Paris-Est, Laboratoire Géomatériaux et Environnement (EA 4508), UPEM, 77454, Marne-la-Vallée, France

    A. C. Agnello, D. Huguenot & E. D. van Hullebusch

  2. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Meccanica, Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale, via Di Biasio 43, 03043, Cassino, FR, Italy

    A. C. Agnello & G. Esposito

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  1. A. C. Agnello
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  2. D. Huguenot
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  3. E. D. van Hullebusch
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  4. G. Esposito
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Correspondence to D. Huguenot.

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Responsible editor: Elena Maestri

Highlights

• Alfalfa could grow on heavy metal and petroleum hydrocarbon co-contaminated soil.

• Alfalfa increased rhizosphere bacteria number and enzyme activity.

• Joint addition of amendments enhanced bacteria number and enzyme activity.

• Promising potential of alfalfa in phytoremediation of co-contaminated soils.

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Agnello, A.C., Huguenot, D., van Hullebusch, E.D. et al. Citric acid- and Tween® 80-assisted phytoremediation of a co-contaminated soil: alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) performance and remediation potential. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 9215–9226 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5972-7

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