Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Vermicompost as a natural adsorbent: evaluation of simultaneous metals (Pb, Cd) and tetracycline adsorption by sewage sludge-derived vermicompost

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

Abstract

The simultaneous adsorption of heavy metals (Pb, Cd) and organic pollutant (tetracycline (TC)) by a sewage sludge-derived vermicompost was investigated. The maximal adsorption capacity for Pb, Cd, and TC in a single adsorptive system calculated from Langmuir equation was 12.80, 85.20, and 42.94 mg L−1, while for mixed substances, the adsorption amount was 2.99, 13.46, and 20.89 mg L−1, respectively. The adsorption kinetics fitted well to the pseudo-second-order model, implying chemical interaction between adsorbates and functional groups, such as –COOH, –OH, –NH, and –CO, as well as the formation of organo-metal complexes. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area measurement were adopted to gain insight into the structural changes and a better understanding of the adsorption mechanism. The sewage sludge-derived vermicompost can be a low cost and environmental benign eco-material for high efficient wastewater remediation.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bardy M, Fritsch E, Derenne S, Allard T, do Nascimento NR, Bueno GT (2008) Micromorphology and spectroscopic characteristics of organic matter in waterlogged podzols of the upper Amazon basin. Geoderma 145:222–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carrasquero-Durán A, Flores I (2009) Evaluation of lead(II) immobilization by a vermicompost using adsorption isotherms and IR spectroscopy. Bioresour Technol 100:1691–1694

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen C, Wang X, Jiang H, Hu W (2007) Direct observation of macromolecular structures of humic acid by AFM and SEM. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 302:121–125

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Y, Wang F, Duan L, Yang H, Gao J (2016) Tetracycline adsorption onto rice husk ash, an agricultural waste: its kinetic and thermodynamic studies. J Mol Liq 222:487–494

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Evangelou MWH, Daghan H, Schaeffer A (2004) The influence of humic acids on the phytoextraction of cadmium from soil. Chemosphere 57:207–213

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Bayo JD, Romero E, Schnitzler F, Burauel P (2008) Assessment of pesticide availability in soil fractions after the incorporation of winery-distillery vermicomposts. Environ Pollut 154:330–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García AC, Izquierdo FG, Sobrinho NMBdA, Castro RN, Santos LA, Souza LGAd, Berbara RLL (2013) Humified insoluble solid for efficient decontamination of nickel and lead in industrial effluents. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 1:916–924

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giles, C.H., Macewan, T.H., Nakhwa, S.N., Smith, D., 1960. Studies in adsorption. 11. A system of classification of solution adsorption isotherms, and its use in diagnosis of adsorption mechanisms and in measurement of specific surface areas of solids. J Chem Soc :3973–3993

  • Hussain N, Abbasi T, Abbasi SA (2016) Transformation of toxic and allelopathic lantana into a benign organic fertilizer through vermicomposting. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc 163:162–169

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Iqbal M, Saeed A, Zafar SI (2009) FTIR spectrophotometry, kinetics and adsorption isotherms modeling, ion exchange, and EDX analysis for understanding the mechanism of Cd2+ and Pb2+ removal by mango peel waste. J Hazard Mater 164:161–171

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Larous S, Meniai AH, Lehocine MB (2005) Experimental study of the removal of copper from aqueous solutions by adsorption using sawdust. Desalination 185:483–490

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lim SL, Wu TY (2015) Determination of maturity in the vermicompost produced from palm oil mill effluent using spectroscopy, structural characterization and thermogravimetric analysis. Ecol Eng 84:515–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martins AF, Cardoso AdL, Stahl JA, Diniz J (2007) Low temperature conversion of rice husks, eucalyptus sawdust and peach stones for the production of carbon-like adsorbent. Bioresour Technol 98:1095–1100

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marzbali MH, Esmaieli M, Abolghasemi H, Marzbali MH (2016) Tetracycline adsorption by H3PO4-activated carbon produced from apricot nut shells: a batch study. Process Saf Environ Prot 102:700–709

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ocampo-Pérez R, Rivera-Utrilla J, Gómez-Pacheco C, Sánchez-Polo M, López-Peñalver JJ (2012) Kinetic study of tetracycline adsorption on sludge-derived adsorbents in aqueous phase. Chem Eng J 213:88–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ocampo-Pérez R, Leyva-Ramos R, Rivera-Utrilla J, Flores-Cano JV, Sánchez-Polo M (2015) Modeling adsorption rate of tetracyclines on activated carbons from aqueous phase. Chem Eng Res Des 104:579–588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira MG, Arruda MAZ (2003) Vermicompost as a natural adsorbent material: characterization and potentialities for cadmium adsorption. J Braz Chem Soc 14:39–47

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rajiv P, Rajeshwari S, Venckatesh R (2013) Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy: reliable techniques for analysis of Parthenium mediated vermicompost. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc 116:642–645

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera-Utrilla J, Gómez-Pacheco CV, Sánchez-Polo M, López-Peñalver JJ, Ocampo-Pérez R (2013) Tetracycline removal from water by adsorption/bioadsorption on activated carbons and sludge-derived adsorbents. J Environ Manag 131:16–24

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saeed A, Akhter MW, Iqbal M (2005) Removal and recovery of heavy metals from aqueous solution using papaya wood as a new biosorbent. Sep Purif Technol 45:25–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Savitzky A, Golay MJE (1964) Smoothing and differentiation of data by simplified least squares procedures. Anal Chem 36:1627–1639

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Subhash Kumar M, Rajiv P, Rajeshwari S, Venckatesh R (2015) Spectroscopic analysis of vermicompost for determination of nutritional quality. Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc 135:252–255

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang L, Zheng Z, Zhang Y, Chao J, Gao Y, Luo X, Zhang J (2013) Biostabilization enhancement of heavy metals during the vermiremediation of sewage sludge with passivant. J Hazard Mater 244–245:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei Y-L, Lee Y-C, Yang Y-W, Lee J-F (2004) Molecular study of concentrated copper pollutant with a compost. Chemosphere 57:1201–1205

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xin He YZ, Shen M, Zeng G, Zhou M, Li M (2016) Effect of vermicomposting on concentration and speciation of heavy metals in sewage sludge with additive materials. Bioresour Technol 218:867–873

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Xu G, Yu H, Zhang Z (2016) Preparation of ferric-activated sludge-based adsorbent from biological sludge for tetracycline removal. Bioresour Technol 211:566–573

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu Q, Zhang R, Deng S, Huang J, Yu G (2009) Sorption of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate on activated carbons and resin: kinetic and isotherm study. Water Res 43:1150–1158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Long Y, Yuancheng Z, Zhu Y, Wang H, Wu H, Lu W (2012a) Effect of a mixed anionic-nonionic surfactant adsorption on bentonite structure and on distribution of pentachlorophenol. Appl Clay Sci 69:93–98

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Wu H, Zhang J, Wang H, Lu W (2012b) Enhanced photodegradation of pentachlorophenol by single and mixed cationic and nonionic surfactants. J Hazard Mater 221–222:92–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang D, Yin J, Zhao J, Zhu H, Wang C (2015a) Adsorption and removal of tetracycline from water by petroleum coke-derived highly porous activated carbon. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 3:1504–1512

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z, Lan H, Liu H, Qu J (2015b) Removal of tetracycline antibiotics from aqueous solution by amino-Fe(III) functionalized SBA15. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 471:133–138

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao L, Wang Y, Yang J, Xing M, Li X, Yi D, Deng D (2010) Earthworm–microorganism interactions: a strategy to stabilize domestic wastewater sludge. Water Res 44:2572–2582

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51509087) and the Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Hunan (No. 2015jj3047).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Xin He, Yaxin Zhang, Maocai Shen, Ye Tian, Kaixuan Zheng & Guangming Zeng

  2. Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Xin He, Yaxin Zhang, Maocai Shen, Ye Tian, Kaixuan Zheng & Guangming Zeng

Authors
  1. Xin He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yaxin Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Maocai Shen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ye Tian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kaixuan Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Guangming Zeng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yaxin Zhang.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Bingcai Pan

Electronic supplementary material

Table S1

Composition of vermicomposting materials in different scenarios. (DOCX 17 kb)

Table S2

Heavy metal content before and after vermicomposting in all scenarios (mg/kg). (DOCX 18 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

He, X., Zhang, Y., Shen, M. et al. Vermicompost as a natural adsorbent: evaluation of simultaneous metals (Pb, Cd) and tetracycline adsorption by sewage sludge-derived vermicompost. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 8375–8384 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8529-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8529-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation