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Heavy metal (Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr) washing from river sediment using biosurfactant rhamnolipid

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 24, pages 16344–16350 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Heavy metal-contaminated sediments posed a serious threat to both human beings and environment. A biosurfactant, rhamnolipid, was employed as the washing agent to remove heavy metals in river sediment. Batch experiments were conducted to test the removal capability. The effects of rhamnolipid concentration, washing time, solution pH, and liquid/solid ratio were investigated. The speciation of heavy metals before and after washing in sediment was also analyzed. Heavy metal washing was favored at high concentration, long washing time, and high pH. In addition, the efficiency of washing was closely related to the original speciation of heavy metals in sediment. Rhamnolipid mainly targeted metals in exchangeable, carbonate-bound or Fe-Mn oxide-bound fractions. Overall, rhamnolipid biosurfactant as a washing agent could effectively remove heavy metals from sediment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (14ZR1428900), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017M611590) National Natural Science Foundation of China (51078233), Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, State Education Ministry (SEM2013), and Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology (13230502300).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment and Architecture, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 516 Jungong Rd, Shanghai, 200093, People’s Republic of China

    Weifang Chen, Yan Qu, Zhihua Xu, Feifei He, Zai Chen, Sisi Huang & Yuxiang Li

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  1. Weifang Chen
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  2. Yan Qu
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  3. Zhihua Xu
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  4. Feifei He
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  5. Zai Chen
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  6. Sisi Huang
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  7. Yuxiang Li
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Correspondence to Zhihua Xu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Chen, W., Qu, Y., Xu, Z. et al. Heavy metal (Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr) washing from river sediment using biosurfactant rhamnolipid. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 16344–16350 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9272-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9272-2

Keywords

  • Biosurfactant
  • Heavy metals
  • Rhamnolipid
  • River sediment
  • Washing