Mobilization of Cu and Zn in contaminated soil by nitrilotriacetic acid

Batch and upflow column leaching experiments were used to evaluate the nature and extent of Cu and Zn solubilization from contaminated soil by nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) in 0.025 M NaClO₄. In batch soil suspensions, NTA levels of 10^?5 to 10^?3 M substantially promoted Cu and Zn release from the metal-enriched soil. The ability of NTA to enhance Cu and Zn solubility decreased with increasing solution acidity probably due to competitive binding of NTA by protons and Fe released by hydrous oxide dissolution. However, in the pH range typically encountered in northeastern U.S. soils, soluble metal levels were nearly constant for a given NTA concentration. Leaching soil columns with NTA solutions enhanced Cu release more than Zn, as the enrichment ratio (cumulative metal leached by NTA compared to the 0.025 M NaClO₄ control leachate) after 85 pore volumes displacements was 23.6 and 4.3 for Cu and Zn, respectively. While Cu release by 0.01 M CaCl₂ differed little from the control, 0.01 M CaCl₂ was substantially more effective than 10^?5 M NTA in displacing bound Zn. The data reflect different retention mechanisms for Cu and Zn in this soil.     

Investigations into the fate of nitrilotriacetic acid in sewage sludge applied to agricultural land

The mobility of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) in agricultural soil was assessed in a soil/sewage sludge admixture and following surface applications using laboratory scale soil columns. Rates of application were based on the guidelines published by the Department of the Environment (United Kingdom). Nitrilotriacetic acid concentrations were based on expected sewage sludge concentrations were NTA to be introduced as a replacement builder in detergent formulations. Admixtures were found to retain NTA more effectively in the topsoil (0 to 200 mm) than surface applications, with up to 9.5 % of the applied NTA passing through the topsoil following a surface application, when irrigated at average rainfall. Even at higher rates of irrigation a great proportion of the NTA was retained in a soil column containing topsoil and subsoil (200 to 300 mm). The adsorption capacity of the soil was determined in batch experiments and was found to be 17.5 μNTA g^?1 soil.     

Assessment of soil contamination by the content of heavy metals in the soil profile

A new soil-ecological definition of the maximal permissible concentration (MPC) of heavy metals in soils is suggested that regulates the sampling in contaminated territories. Instead of the shallow pits usually used for collecting surface samples for soil-hygienic and other investigations, it is proposed to fulfill a detailed analysis along the entire soil profile including not only the determination of the heavy element content in certain horizons but also the soil density in these horizons. For the polyelemental contamination Zc (according to the Saet equation) based on the background (clarke) excess, the established Zc values ranging from 1 to 128, may reach absurd values of 800–900 upon taking into consideration only one surface layer. At the same time, the use of the weighted average content of the metals in the soil profile adjusts the Zc values for the existing natural conditions. Upon aerial impact, the consideration of the heavy metal contents along the soil profile instead of their contents in the surface horizon only leads to a decrease in the indices of the soil contamination degree. Upon the hydrogenic impact, the transition from the heavy metal contents in the surface horizon to their contents in the soil profile gives higher values of the soil contamination.     

Influence of sewage sludge and heavy metals on nematodes in an arable soil

Summary The abundance of nematodes was investigated in agricultural plots treated in three different ways, the first with no treatment, the second with 300 m³ ha^-1 a^-1 raw sewage sludge and the third with 300 m³ ha^-1 a^-1 sewage sludge with the addition of heavy metals. The nematodes were determined down to the genus and were assigned to five feeding groups. Total nematode numbers were highest in the site treated with sewage sludge and heavy metals. The smallest total numbers were found in the control site. The plant-feeding nematode genera showed different patterns of abundance depending on the sludge treatment and heavy metal content. For the mycophagic and bacteriophagic nematodes, numbers increased with the amount of sludge, especially in the sites with a higher heavy metal content. The family Rhabditidae was the most numerous group in the sludge plus heavy metals treatment. In contrast to these findings, the omnivorous nematodes were very rare in the sludgetreated plots and were completely absent in plots treated with sludge plus heavy metals, whereas predatory nematodes were numerous only after the application of sludge alone.     

Complexing properties of nitrilotriacetic acid in the lake environment

At concentrations above 1 ppm NTA can react with sparingly soluble compounds to release the metal and associated anions through complexation. It also interacts with sediment to release certain metals depending on the abundance of the metals in the sediment. In situ and laboratory experiments have been carried out to study such interactions and also to follow the fate of these released metals after NTA has degraded. Degradation of certain NTA-metal complexes in lake water medium has also been studied. It was found that certain NTA complexes (Cu, Ni, Cd, Hg) are very resistent to degradation.     

Heavy metals in crops as affected by soil types and sewage sludge rates

Abstract

A municipal sewage sludge was applied at three application rates to three soils in field lysimeters to study the effects of soil and sludge application rate on cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) absorbed by ‘Larker’ barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and by Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. ‘Cicla'). Sludge applied at 20, 40, and 100 Mg/ha oven‐dry equivalent were mixed into the top 0.15 m of soil in each lysimeter. In addition, a nil sludge rate (control) received 125 kg N/ha. Metal contents were relatively low in barley grain, higher in barley straw, and highest in Swiss chard. Metal contents in plants increased with increasing sludge loading. Most plants grown on soil amended with the higher sludge rates were too high in Cd (greater than 0.5 mg/kg of dry feed material) to be suitable for animal consumption. No plant materials tested exceeded the suggested maximum Zn, Cu, or Ni levels.     

The influence of transient phenomena on the biodegradation of nitrilotriacetic acid in the activated sludge process II. Variations in influent metal and NTA concentrations

A BASIC microcomputer program is described which calculates the median lethal dosage (LD₅₀), the probit transformation, 95% confidence limits and a chi-square test for goodness of fit quantal response data. The program could also be modified for use on other microcomputers, making it an extremely useful program in environmental toxicology research.     

用固定剂减少污泥中重金属污染土壤的研究

该研究将加有重金属固定剂的污泥装入废弃塑料容器制成施肥器,利用人工淋水或自然降水,使污泥中的养分从施肥器中流入土壤,而重金属被固定在污泥中,减少重金属土壤污染,再收集处理残渣,防止二次污染。通过淋滤试验和种植油麦菜、蕹菜的盆栽试验得出以下结论：硫酸钾作为固定剂和污泥混合,不仅肥效好,作物产量高,而且污泥重金属被水淋出量少,植物体内重金属的含量低。该文为污泥合理农用提供了新方法,同时充分利用了废弃塑料容器等废弃物,成本低而收效显著。     

Protozoan bioassays of soil amended with sewage sludge and heavy metals,using the common soil ciliate Colpoda steinii

The common soil protozoan Colpoda steinii was used to study the toxicity of sulphate solutions of Ni, Cd, Cu, and Zn. The growth of C. steinii was reduced by 50% in the presence of 0.10, 0.22, 0.25, and 0.85 mg litre^-1 of Ni, Cd, Cu and Zn, respectively, during 24 h of incubation at 25°C, as calculated from a regression analysis of probit-transformed data. The same growth assay was used to assess the toxicity of soil solution extracted by centrifugation from soil samples of field plots of a grass/clover ley on a sandy loam treated with sewage sludge spiked with additional Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, or Zn at concentrations either equivalent to or twice the limits for heavy metals recommended in recent EC guidelines (Commission of European Communities directive 86/278/EEC). The toxicity of these soil solutions varied with the season of the year. None of the soil solutions extracted in winter (February 1991) inhibited the growth of C. steinii. In summer (July 1991), the growth was reduced in solutions extracted from plots that were amended with sludge plus additional Zn or Ni at twice the maxima recommended by the EC. The changes in toxicity to C. steinii of the soil solutions between February and July were positively correlated with increases in heavy metal concentrations of Zn and Ni between winter and summer. These preliminary results suggest that regular protozoan bioassays may be used to monitor the biological availability of heavy metals in soils, especially when combined with other microbial assays and with chemical analyses of soil solutions.     

The influence of transient phenomena on the biodegradation of nitrilotriacetic acid in the activated sludge process I: Variations in hydraulic loading and sewage strength

The removal of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) following acclimatization in an activated sludge pilot plant has been studied during transient changes in operating conditions. These changes included increases in hydraulic loading and influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) and such phenomena in combination with transient temperature reductions. Short-term increases in hydraulic loading from 1 to 2 dry weather flow (dwf) had a very limited effect on NTA removal. Increasing the influent COD had a slight effect on NTA removal. Short term increases in hydraulic loading combined with transient reductions in temperature significantly reduced NTA removal. The effect of these combined changes on NTA removal was synergistic, rather than additive. Increases in influent COD combined with transient temperature reductions also caused a significant reduction of NTA removal. The effect of such combined changes on NTA removal was at most only additive.     

Chemical extractability of heavy metals during and after long-term applications of sewage sludge to soil

Sequential extractions were used on soils from a long-term experiment treated with either metal-contaminated sewage sludge or inorganic fertilizers between 1942 and 1961. The four extracts employed were CaCl₂, NaOH, EDTA and aqua regia. These showed that large increases in the proportions of Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni and Cd in at least one of the first three fractions occurred during the first 10 years of sewage sludge additions. Cr always remained predominantly in the aqua regia-soluble fraction. For 30 years after this, including a period of more than 20 years after application of sludges to the field had ceased, there was very little change in the percentage of each metal extracted by each reagent. Although the ‘residual’ (aqua regia-soluble) and EDTA fractions usually contained the largest amounts of metals in either sludge- or fertilizer-treated soils, there were clear differences between the metals: Pb represented the largest fraction of any metal extracted by EDTA, Cu of any metal extracted by NaOH and Cd of any metal extracted by CaCl₂. The same extractions were made of the sewage sludges that were applied to the field, and the distributions of the metals differed from those found in the treated soils. It was particularly apparent that more Pb and Cu was present as the ‘residual’ (aqua regia) fraction in sludges than in the soils.     

造纸污泥堆肥对酸性土壤铝污染的影响

通过盆栽试验,研究在砖红壤中施加富含铝盐的造纸污泥堆肥后,土壤－作物体系中的铝毒效应。试验结果表明：盆栽初期,添加造纸污泥堆肥各处理土壤中的总酸溶性铝和总单核铝浓度较CK呈显著上升趋势,并随堆肥用量的增加而增加;随着种植时间推移,各处理（除了CK）总酸溶性铝和总单核铝浓度显著降低,且在盆栽结束时各处理总酸溶性铝浓度均低于原砖红壤中总酸溶性铝浓度;在整个盆栽期间,总单核铝是土壤中活性铝的主要存在形态;添加堆肥的各处理玉米植株的根部和地上部分铝含量均显著小于CK,玉米的生长状况均优于CK,说明在酸性土壤中添加造纸污泥堆肥,能起到很好的肥效作用,且不会对玉米生长形成铝毒效应,其中10%为本试验的最佳配比;另外,土壤理化性质测定结果显示：添加造纸污泥堆肥能有效减缓土壤酸化、增加土壤有机质和有效磷含量,提高土壤质量。     

Plant element and soil properties governing uptake and availability of heavy metals derived from sewage sludge

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution - Coordinated pot experiments were conducted with soils from long-term field trials which had received large and/or frequent treatments with sewage sludge. A...     

Assessment of soil microbial communities in surface applied mixtures of Illinois River sediments and biosolids

Restoration of the Illinois River and its backwater lakes involves the dredging of millions of cubic meters of sediment, and the relocation of this dredged sediment is a significant challenge. Beneficial use of sediment as landscaping soil on brownfields, strip mines, highway borders and other areas is a potential use for large quantities of this material, as sediments have desirable soil characteristics, including a favorable texture for plant growth and good water holding capacity. The addition of biosolids to Illinois River sediments has the potential to increase the organic and nutrient content of the sediments and thus to make these sediments more useful for the reclamation of damaged soils. The goal of the current study was to assess the impacts of biosolids additions on the physical/chemical characteristics and microbial communities of surface applied river sediments. Field plots containing various sediment/biosolids mixture were established and examined 1 year after application. Results indicated that biosolids addition had significant positive effects on soil organic carbon, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorous, and microbial biomass and activity. In addition, the sediment/biosolids mixtures showed lower salinity and lower concentrations of copper, lead and zinc than the pure biosolids. PLFA analysis revealed that biosolids addition resulted in shifts in microbial community composition, with relative increases in Gram negative bacteria and relative decreases in Gram positive bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. These data suggest that a mixture of sediment and biosolids is preferable to either sediment or biosolids alone.     

Sequential fractionation and plant availability of heavy metals as affected by sewage sludge applications to soil

Abstract

The effect of sewage sludge applications on extractability and uptake by chard and lettuce of soil cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), leaf (Pb), and zinc (Zn) was investigated. Ten different treatments (0, 150, 300, and 500 kg N ha^‐1) as mineral fertilizer, and 400, 800, and 1,200 kg N ha^‐1 of aerobically and anaerobically‐digested sewage sludges were applied annually to a sandy‐loam soil since 1984. Seven years after the start of the treatments, higher levels of heavy metals were detected in the soil, depending on the type of metal, depth of sampling, type of sludge used, and, especially, rate of application. Following a sequential extraction procedure incorporating 0.1M CaCl₂, 0.5M NaOH, and 0.05M Na₂EDTA, most of the heavy metals in soil were detected in the Na₂EDTA solution and the residual fractions. Large amounts of Cd appeared to be extracted by CaCl₂, whereas substantial amounts of Cu and Ni were isolated by NaOH. The effect of treatments on the percentages of the metals found in each fraction depended on the type of metal, sampling depth, sludge used, and application rate. No significant increases were found in the heavy metal contents of chard and lettuce leaves, but some of the treatments resulted in a significant decrease of Cd and Cr levels in lettuce leaves.     

长江三角洲地区土壤盐酸可提取态重金属含量的空间变异特征

以江苏昆山市为典型区,对长三角地区土壤盐酸可提取态重金属含量的结构特征进行分析,得出该区盐酸可提取态重金属的空间分布格局并揭示了引起这种分布格局的成因和污染来源,结果表明：昆山市盐酸可提取态Cd、Cr、Cu、Pb、Zn、Hg属强变异,Ni和Co为中等变异。半方差函数模型拟合表明所有盐酸可提取态重金属元素均符合球状模型,8种重金属元素在一定范围内均存在空间相关性。采用Kriging最优内插法得到了盐酸可提取态重金属含量的空间分布格局,表明土壤盐酸可提取态重金属含量与工业活动、污水灌溉和大气降尘密切相关。通过主成分分析与地统计学相结合的方法,得出该区盐酸可提取态重金属由4个主成分构成,第一主成分为Cd、Cu、Pb、Cr和Zn,决定这一成分的主要因素为工业污水灌溉、大气降尘和元素地球化学特征;第二主成分为Ni,决定这一成分的主要因素为土壤内部因子;第三主成分为Hg,该成分主要受工业点源污染的影响;第四主成分为Co,该成分可能主要受地形影响。     

畜禽粪便生物炭内源重金属在酸性土壤中的迁移转化

为探究生物炭内源重金属在酸性土壤中的迁移转化规律,科学指导畜禽粪便生物炭农田应用,该研究以猪粪生物炭为研究对象,开展土壤培养试验,利用扫描电镜、物理吸附、X射线衍射物相分析、X射线光电子能谱和电感耦合等离子体质谱等方法表征不同培养时间生物炭表面形貌、孔隙结构、元素分布的变化规律,以及土壤孔隙溶液中重金属、磷酸盐等组分的变化规律。结果显示生物炭内源重金属Cu、Zn主要存在形态为氧化提取态,Cu、Zn氧化提取态比例分别为79.37%和53.43%,生物炭矿物质元素主要以氧化物形式存在于生物炭颗粒表面,施入酸性土壤后,生物炭比表面积及孔容增加,颗粒表面Cu、P、K等元素含量降低,土壤孔隙溶液中pH值、EC、Cu与PO43-含量显著升高,PO43-的浓度范围为2.26～298.00 mg/L,Cu的浓度范围为1.81～2.86 μg/L,生物炭颗粒粒径越小,PO43-和Cu溶出率越高,生物炭施入土壤30 d时,土壤孔隙溶液中PO43-和Cu的浓度最高。研究表明酸性土壤可促进以碳酸盐、磷酸盐氧化物形式存在的Cu以及被碳酸根与磷酸根沉淀的Cu不断释放进入土壤,但生物炭内源Zn在酸性土壤环境不易释放,且生物炭可吸附土壤中的Zn,降低Zn的生物有效性。     

Effect of sewage sludge additions on Nocardia in soil

The population of Nocardia in soil under pasture increased 100 × over 14 months following the application of dried sewage sludge. Nocardia were isolated using selective media and on each of five samplings numbers of Nocardia in the control plots were very similar (

5.0 × 10³g^?1 dry weight), indicating both the reliability of the isolation technique, and that the steady increase in numbers of Nocardia was a real effect of dried sludge application. Amendment with wet sludge, which contains less organic matter did not have the same effect of stimulating growth of the soil population of Nocardia. On the basis of diagnostic tests and lipid analysis the organisms isolated all belong to the N. asteroides taxon. The potential benefits and hazards of inducing Nocardia population growth are discussed