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Nano zerovalent Fe did not reduce metal(loid) leaching and ecotoxicity further than conventional Fe grit in contrasting smelter impacted soils: A 1-year field study.

Lewandowská, Šárka; Vaňková, Zuzana; Beesley, Luke; Cajthaml, Tomáš; Wickramasinghe, Niluka; Vojar, Jiří; Vítková, Martina; Tsang, Daniel C W; Ndungu, Kuria; Komárek, Michael

Nano zerovalent Fe did not reduce metal(loid) leaching and ecotoxicity further than conventional Fe grit in contrasting smelter impacted soils: A 1-year field study. Thumbnail


Authors

Šárka Lewandowská

Zuzana Vaňková

Luke Beesley

Tomáš Cajthaml

Niluka Wickramasinghe

Jiří Vojar

Martina Vítková

Daniel C W Tsang

Kuria Ndungu

Michael Komárek



Abstract

The majority of the studies on nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) are conducted at a laboratory-scale, while field-scale evidence is scarce. The objective of this study was to compare the metal(loid) immobilization efficiency of selected Fe-based materials under field conditions for a period of one year. Two contrasting metal(loid) (As, Cd, Pb, Zn) enriched soils from a smelter-contaminated area were amended with sulfidized nZVI (S-nZVI) solely or combined with thermally stabilized sewage sludge and compared to amendment with microscale iron grit. In the soil with higher pH (7.5) and organic matter content (TOC = 12.7 %), the application of amendments resulted in a moderate increase in pH and reduced As, Cd, Pb, and Zn leaching after 1-year, with S-nZVI and sludge combined being the most efficient, followed by iron grit and S-nZVI alone. However, the amendments had adverse impacts on microbial biomass quantity, S-nZVI being the least damaging. In the soil with a lower pH (6.0) and organic matter content (TOC = 2.3 %), the results were mixed; 0.01 M CaCl extraction data showed only S-nZVI with sludge as remaining effective in reducing extractable concentrations of metals; on the other hand, Cd and Zn concentrations were increased in the extracted soil pore water solutions, in contrast to the two conventional amendments. Despite that, S-nZVI with sludge enhanced the quantity of microbial biomass in this soil. Additional earthworm avoidance data indicated that they generally avoided soil treated with all Fe-based materials, but the presence of sludge impacted their preferences somewhat. In summary, no significant differences between S-nZVI and iron grit were observed for metal(loid) immobilization, though sludge significantly improved the performance of S-nZVI in terms of soil health indicators. Therefore, this study indicates that S-nZVI amendment of soils alone should be avoided, though further field evidence from a broader range of soils is now required. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.]

Citation

Lewandowská, Š., Vaňková, Z., Beesley, L., Cajthaml, T., Wickramasinghe, N., Vojar, J., …Komárek, M. (in press). Nano zerovalent Fe did not reduce metal(loid) leaching and ecotoxicity further than conventional Fe grit in contrasting smelter impacted soils: A 1-year field study. Science of the Total Environment, 927, 171892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171892

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 20, 2024
Online Publication Date Mar 26, 2024
Deposit Date Apr 23, 2024
Publicly Available Date Apr 23, 2024
Journal The Science of the total environment
Print ISSN 0048-9697
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 927
Pages 171892
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171892
Keywords Metal(loid) immobilization, Sewage sludge, Soil remediation, Sulfidized nZVI, Soil pore water

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