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Impact of various amendments on immobilization and phytoavailability of nickel and zinc in a contaminated floodplain soil

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Abstract

The immobilization of toxic metals in soils using amendments is a cost-effective remediation technique for contaminated soils. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the efficiency of various amendments to immobilize nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) in soil and reduce their phytoavailability. A greenhouse pot experiment was established with a contaminated agricultural floodplain soil. The soil was treated with activated carbon (AC), bentonite (BE), biochar (BI), cement bypass kiln dust (CBD), chitosan (CH), coal fly ash (FA), limestone (LS), nano-hydroxyapatite (HA), organo-clay (OC), sugar beet factory lime (SBFL), and zeolite (Z) with an application rate of 1 % (0.2 % for HA) and cultivated by rapeseed (Brassica napus). After plant harvesting, the soil was analyzed for water-soluble and geochemical fractions of Ni and Zn. Additionally, both metals were analyzed in the aboveground biomass. Application of the amendments increased significantly the biomass production of rapeseed compared to the control (except for OC, HA, and FA). Water-soluble Ni and Zn decreased significantly after adding the amendments (except OC, Z, and CH). The SBFL, CBD, LS, BE, AC, and BI were most effective, resulting in a 58–99 and 56–96 % decrease in water-soluble Ni and Zn, respectively. The addition of SBFL, CBD, and LS leads to the highest decreasing rate of concentrations of Ni in plants (56–68 %) and Zn (40–49 %). The results demonstrate the high potential of CBD, SBFL, LS, BE, AC, and BI for the immobilization of Ni and Zn in contaminated floodplain soils.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the German Academic Exchange Foundation (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, DAAD), GERSS Fellowship; Code number A1291166 and WAP program; Code number A/14/05113) and the Egyptian Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF-STF; Project ID: 5333) for financial support of the postdoctoral scholarship of the first author at the University of Wuppertal, Germany. The authors thank C. Vandenhirtz, F. Seufzer, D. Theiss, and M. Langerhans-Muhlack for their technical assistance, and Mr. J. Olsta, CETCO Company, USA, for kindly providing the organo-clay.

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Shaheen, S.M., Rinklebe, J. & Selim, M.H. Impact of various amendments on immobilization and phytoavailability of nickel and zinc in a contaminated floodplain soil. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 12, 2765–2776 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-014-0713-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-014-0713-x

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