Dataset Information

The effect of biochar amendments on phenanthrene sorption, desorption and mineralisation in different soils.

ABSTRACT: The contamination of soils and waters with organic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), affect a large number of sites worldwide that need remediation. In this context soils amendments can be used to immobilise PAHs while maintaining soil functioning, with biochar being a promising amendment. In this experiment, phenantrene (Phe) was used as a frequent PAH contaminating soils and we studied the effect of three biochars at 1% applications to three different substrates, two agricultural topsoils and pure sand. We evaluated the changes in soil properties, sorption-desorption of Phe, and mineralisation of Phe in all treatments. Phe in pure sand was effectively sorbed to olive pruning (OBC) and rice husk (RBC) biochars, but pine biochar (PBC) was not as effective. In the soils, OBC and RBC only increased sorption of Phe in the silty soil. Desorption was affected by biochar application, RBC and OBC decreased water soluble Phe independently of the soil, which may be useful in preventing leaching of Phe into natural waters. Contrastingly, OBC and RBC slightly decreased the mineralisation of Phe in the soils, thus indicating lower bioavailability of the contaminant. Overall, biochar effects in the two tested soils were low, most likely due to the rather high soil organic C (SOC) contents of 2.2 and 2.8% with Koc values in the same range as those of the biochars. However, OBC and RBC additions can substantially increase adsorption of Phe in soils poor in SOC.

SUBMITTER: Moreno Jimenez E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6026465 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The effect of biochar amendments on phenanthrene sorption, desorption and mineralisation in different soils.

Moreno Jiménez Eduardo E Aceña-Heras Sara S Frišták Vladimír V Heinze Stefanie S Marschner Bernd B

PeerJ 20180627

The contamination of soils and waters with organic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), affect a large number of sites worldwide that need remediation. In this context soils amendments can be used to immobilise PAHs while maintaining soil functioning, with biochar being a promising amendment. In this experiment, phenantrene (Phe) was used as a frequent PAH contaminating soils and we studied the effect of three biochars at 1% applications to three different substrates, two ...[more]

PMID: 29967738

Similar Datasets

Project description:Volcanic soils cover 1% of the Earth's surface but support 10% of the world's population. They are among the most fertile soils in the world, due to their excellent physical properties and richness in available nutrients. The major limiting factor for plant growth in volcanic soils is phosphate fixation, which is mainly attributable to active species of aluminium and iron. The sorption and desorption of phosphate is studied on the surface horizons of two African agricultural soils, a silandic Andosol (Rwanda) and a vitric Andosol (São Tomé and Principe). Both soils are slightly acid. The silandic Andosol is rich in active aluminium forms, while the vitric Andosol has high amounts of crystalline iron and aluminium oxides. Sorption isotherms were determined by equilibrating at 293K soil samples with phosphate solutions of concentrations between 0 and 100 mg P L-1 in NaNO3; phosphate was determined by visible spectrophotometry in the equilibrium solution. To study desorption, the soil samples from the sorption experiment were equilibrated with 0.02 M NaNO3. The isotherms were adjusted to mathematical models. In almost all the concentration range, the adsorption of phosphate by the silandic Andosol was greater than 90% of the amount added, being lower in the vitric Andosol but always higher than 65%. The high sorption by the silandic Andosol is attributed to its richness in non-crystalline Fe and Al, while in the vitric Andosol crystalline iron species seem to play a relevant role in the adsorption. The sorption isotherms of both soils fitted to the Temkin model, the adjustment to the Langmuir or Freundlich models being unsatisfactory; throughout the range studied, the sorption increases with increasing phosphorus concentration, a maximum sorption is not predictable (as occurs when the sorption is adjusted to the Langmuir model). For an added P concentration of 100 mg L-1 (3.2 mmol L-1), the sorption is 47.7 µmol P g-1 in the silandic Andosol and 41.6 µmol P g-1 in the vitric Andosol. The desorption is low and the comparison of the sorption and desorption isotherms reveals a pronounced hysteresis, that is, the irreversibility of the sorption. The high phosphate sorption and its irreversibility are comparable to those published for other volcanic soils with high contents of allophane, active aluminium and free iron. The strong phosphate adsorption is a serious limiting factor for plant growth, which requires a careful management of phosphorus fertilization.

Project description:Lacking systematic evaluations in soil quality and microbial community recovery after different amendments addition limits optimization of amendments combination in coal mine soils. We performed a short-term incubation experiment with a varying temperature over 12 weeks to assess the effects of three amendments (biochar: C; nitrogen fertilizer at three levels: N-N1~N3; microbial agent at two levels: M-M1~M2) based on C/N ratio (regulated by biochar and N level: 35:1, 25:1, 12.5:1) on mine soil properties and microbial community in the Qilian Mountains, China. Over the incubation period, soil pH and MBC/MBN were significantly lower than unamended treatment in N addition and C + M + N treatments, respectively. Soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and nitrogen (MBN) contents increased significantly in all amended treatments (p < .001). Higher AP, AK, MBC, MBN, and lower MBC/MBN were observed in N2-treated soil (corresponding to C/N ratio of 25:1). Meanwhile, N2-treated soil significantly increased species richness and diversity of soil bacterial community (p < .05). Principal coordinate analysis further showed that soil bacterial community compositions were significantly separated by N level. C-M-N treatments significantly increased the relative abundance (>1%) of the bacterial phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, and decreased the relative abundance of fungal phyla Chytridiomycota (p < .05). Redundancy analysis illustrated the importance of soil nutrients in explaining variability in bacterial community composition (74.73%) than fungal composition (35.0%). Our results indicated that N addition based on biochar and M can improve soil quality by neutralizing soil pH and increasing soil nutrient contents in short-term, and the appropriate C/N ratio (25:1) can better promote microbial mass, richness, and diversity of soil bacterial community. Our study provided a new insight for achieving restoration of damaged habitats by changing microbial structure, diversity, and mass by regulating C/N ratio of amendments.

Project description:This research is concerned with the adsorption and desorption of Cu and As(V) on/from different soils and by-products. Both contaminants may reach soils by the spreading of manure/slurries, wastewater, sewage sludge, or pesticides, and also due to pollution caused by mining and industrial activities. Different crop soils were sampled in A Limia (AL) and Sarria (S) (Galicia, NW Spain). Three low-cost by-products were selected to evaluate their bio-adsorbent potential: pine bark, oak ash, and mussel shell. The adsorption/desorption studies were carried out by means of batch-type experiments, adding increasing and individual concentrations of Cu and As(V). The fit of the adsorption data to the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin models was assessed, with good results in some cases, but with high estimation errors in others. Cu retention was higher in soils with high organic matter and/or pH, reaching almost 100%, while the desorption was less than 15%. The As(V) adsorption percentage clearly decreased for higher As doses, especially in S soils, from 60–100% to 10–40%. The As(V) desorption was closely related to soil acidity, being higher for soils with higher pH values (S soils), in which up to 66% of the As(V) previously adsorbed can be desorbed. The three by-products showed high Cu adsorption, especially oak ash, which adsorbed all the Cu added in a rather irreversible manner. Oak ash also adsorbed a high amount of As(V) (>80%) in a rather non-reversible way, while mussel shell adsorbed between 7 and 33% of the added As(V), and pine bark adsorbed less than 12%, with both by-products reaching 35% desorption. Based on the adsorption and desorption data, oak ash performed as an excellent adsorbent for both Cu and As(V), a fact favored by its high pH and the presence of non-crystalline minerals and different oxides and carbonates. Overall, the results of this research can be relevant when designing strategies to prevent Cu and As(V) pollution affecting soils, waterbodies, and plants, and therefore have repercussions on public health and the environment.

Project description:BackgroundAddition of organic amendments has been commonly adopted as a means to restore degraded soils globally. More recently, the use of woody organic amendments has been recognized as a viable method of capturing and retaining water and restoring degraded and desertified soil, especially in semi-arid regions. However, the impacts of woody amendments on soil microbial community structure, versus other traditional organic supplements is less understood.MethodsThree locally available natural organic materials of different qualities, i.e., cow manure (CM), corn straw (CS), and chipped poplar branches (PB) were selected as treatments in Ningxia, Northern China and compared with control soils. Four microcosms served as replicates for each treatment. All treatments contained desertified soil; treatments with amendments were mixed with 3% (w/w) of one of the above organic materials. After 7 and 15 months from the start of the experiment, soil samples were analyzed for chemical and physical properties, along with biological properties, which included microbial α-diversity, community structure, and relative abundance of microbial phyla.ResultsBoth bacterial and fungal α-diversity indices were weakly affected by amendments throughout the experimental period. All amendments yielded different microbial community compositions than the Control soils. The microbial community composition in the CS and PB treatments also were different from the CM treatment. After 15 months of the experiment, CS and PB exhibited similar microbial community composition, which was consistent with their similar soil physical and chemical properties. Moreover, CS and PB also appeared to exert similar effects on the abundance of some microbial taxa, and both of these treatments yield different abundances of microbial taxa than the CM treatment.ConclusionNew local organic amendment with PB tended to affect the microbial community in a similar way to the traditional local organic amendment with CS, but different from the most traditional local organic amendment with CM in Ningxia, Northern China. Moreover, the high C/N-sensitive, and lignin and cellulose decompose-related microbial phyla increased in CS and PB have benefits in decomposing those incorporated organic materials and improving soil properties. Therefore, we recommend that PB should also be considered as a viable soil organic amendment for future not in Ningxia, but also in other places.

Dataset Information

The effect of biochar amendments on phenanthrene sorption, desorption and mineralisation in different soils.

Publications

The effect of biochar amendments on phenanthrene sorption, desorption and mineralisation in different soils.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets