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Comparison of the leaching characteristics of magnesium-rich dust-polluted soil in Northeast China treated with PAM and citric acid

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Soils located in magnesite mining areas in Northeast China are covered with a hard white crust that increases soil pH and affects ecological functions, reducing water penetration rate in soil. This study aimed to investigate the effects of citric acid (CA) and polyacrylamide (PAM) on the inhibition of crust formation.

Methods

Light-burned magnesia (LBM) obtained from a magnesite calcination factory in Haicheng were mixed with soil and filled into the upper layer of the soil column. Four treatments were denoted the control, M, M-PAM, and M-CA and subjected to simulated rainfall in a leaching experiment. The microstructure and phase composition of the crust covering on the upper layer of the columns were determined using various methods.

Results

Soil infiltration rate (IR) decreased from 0.48 to 0.17 mm·min−1 when crust formed on the soil surface. Soil IR increased to 0.56 mm·min−1 after adding PAM to the soil, while the application of CA returned a maximum IR of 0.71 mm·min−1. Pores and cracks on soil surfaces treated with CA were larger than those treated with PAM. PAM prevented soil particles from reuniting into large aggregates and favored water osmosis. CA can be triple protonated and react with the main components of the crust. In summary, CA was an effective modifier for treating the crust compared to PAM.

Conclusions

The CA treatment returned a 0.15 mm·min−1 higher soil IR and lower soil pH than the PAM treatment. CA is strongly recommended for controlling crust formation in magnesium soils because of its greater potential to react with Mg in the crust.

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Data availability

The data underlying this article will be shared on reasonable request to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to all those who helped us during the writing of this manuscript. My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to Professor Wan Liu, for her encouragement and guidance. She has walked me through all the stages of the writing of this manuscript. Second, we would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Researcher Peidong Tai, who has instructed and helped me a lot in the study. Finally, we thank the financial support by the Major Program of Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAEMP202201), Key Research and Development Program of China (2020YFC1806401), and Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (General Program, 2021-MS-027).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110016, China

    Chunyun Jia, Zongqiang Gong & Xiaojun Li

  2. School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia

    Graeme Allinson

  3. Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 110142, China

    Xuqin Bai

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  1. Chunyun Jia
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Correspondence to Chunyun Jia or Zongqiang Gong.

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Jia, C., Allinson, G., Bai, X. et al. Comparison of the leaching characteristics of magnesium-rich dust-polluted soil in Northeast China treated with PAM and citric acid. J Soils Sediments 23, 2083–2095 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03441-x

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