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. 2024 Apr 9;14(1):8322.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-59059-7.

Evaluating the effectiveness of sulfidated nano zerovalent iron and sludge co-application for reducing metal mobility in contaminated soil

Omolola Ojo  1 , Zuzana Vaňková  2 , Luke Beesley  1 , Niluka Wickramasinghe  1 , Michael Komárek  1
Affiliations

Evaluating the effectiveness of sulfidated nano zerovalent iron and sludge co-application for reducing metal mobility in contaminated soil

Omolola Ojo et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Sewage sludge has long been applied to soils as a fertilizer yet may be enriched with leachable metal(loid)s and other pollutants. Sulfidated nanoscale zerovalent iron (S-nZVI) has proven effective at metal sorption; however, risks associated with the use of engineered nanoparticles cannot be neglected. This study investigated the effects of the co-application of composted sewage sludge with S-nZVI for the stabilization of Cd, Pb, Fe, Zn. Five treatments (control, Fe grit, composted sludge, S-nZVI, composted sludge and S-nZVI), two leaching fluids; synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) fluid were used, samples were incubated at different time intervals of 1 week, 1, 3, and 6 months. Fe grit proved most efficient in reducing the concentration of extractable metals in the batch experiment; the mixture of composted sludge and S-nZVI was the most effective in reducing the leachability of metals in the column systems, while S-nZVI was the most efficient for reducing about 80% of Zn concentration in soil solution. Thus, the combination of two amendments, S-nZVI incorporated with composted sewage sludge and Fe grit proved most effective at reducing metal leaching and possibly lowering the associated risks. Future work should investigate the longer-term efficiency of this combination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in the concentration of Zn (a) and nitrates (b), and pH (c) in soil pore water in amended soils at different incubation times. Data with the same letter represent statistically identical values (P < 0.05) (n = 3).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Concentration of TCLP-extractable Pb (a), Zn (b), Cd (c), and SPLP-extractable Pb (d) and Zn (e) after application of different amendments at different incubation times. Data with the same letter represent statistically identical values (P < 0.05) (n = 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The concentration of Zn, Pb, leached by the TCLP in the column experiment after the application of various soil amendments at different incubation times.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The concentration of Cd, Fe leached by the TCLP in the column experiment after the application of various soil amendments at different incubation times.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The concentration of Fe and Zn leached from the columns with amended soils using SPLP at different incubation times.
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