Influence of water-dispersible colloids from organic manure on the mechanism of metal transport in historically contaminated soils: coupling colloid fractionation with high-energy synchrotron analysis

Purpose

Colloid-facilitated transport of metals is widely observed while manure is used for the improvement of contaminated soil. Details on the mechanism of colloid-associated metal transport are still lacking. This work investigated the nature of water-dispersible colloids (WDC) from different organic manures, differentiated the significance of clay and organic colloids in the metal transport, and finally provided direct and quantitative evidence for the importance of WDC in the colloid-facilitated transport of metals.

Materials and methods

Column experiments were conducted to assess the overall significance of WDC from effective microbial inoculated manure (EM) and leaf mulch (LM) for metal transport in alkali-contaminated soil. The properties of organic colloids such as hydrophilicity, aromaticity, and functional characteristics were analyzed by DAX-8 resin column, specific UV absorbance, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Colloid identification and metal species determination were conducted using a combination of X-ray absorption near-edge structure, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis.

Results and discussion

Approximately 100 % of Pb, 69 % of Zn, and 38 % of Cu in the colloidal particles came from soil clay in the presence of EM colloids, while more than 80 % of Pb, Zn, and Cu in the LM colloids. Combined with the quantities of colloidal metals, it revealed that clay release was inhibited in the former and enhanced in the latter. The quantities of Cu and Zn associated with the EM colloids were much higher than that with the LM colloids. The contrary result was observed for Pb. LM colloids increased the quantities of organically associated Pb significantly.

Conclusions

Clay-associated metal transfer was influenced by the nature of WDC. Microbial manure colloids inhibited the clay-associated transfer of metals in the soils probably due to the presence of polysaccharide and microbially derived extracellular proteins. Leaf mulch colloids, with more hydrophobicity and aromaticity, enhanced the clay-facilitated transfer of metals in the soils.