Heavy metal uptake by wastewater irrigated potato plants grown on contaminated soil treated with hydrogel based amendments

Heavy metal uptake by food crops and the potential for groundwater contamination are of major concern in areas where untreated wastewater is used for irrigation. To minimize heavy metal uptake by wastewater irrigated food crops and to minimize its transport to deeper soil layers, the use of polyacry...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental technology & innovation 2020-08, Vol.19, p.100952, Article 100952
Main Authors: Dhiman, Jaskaran, Prasher, Shiv O., ElSayed, Eman, Patel, Ramanbhai M., Nzediegwu, Christopher, Mawof, Ali
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochar
Heavy metal
Plant uptake
Soil amendment
Superabsorbent polymer
Wastewater irrigation
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Summary:Heavy metal uptake by food crops and the potential for groundwater contamination are of major concern in areas where untreated wastewater is used for irrigation. To minimize heavy metal uptake by wastewater irrigated food crops and to minimize its transport to deeper soil layers, the use of polyacrylamide super absorbent polymer (SAP) and SAP-gasified plantain peel biochar mix (SAP+GBC), as soil amendments, is proposed in this study. A sorption test was conducted to determine the ability of the treatments to adsorb heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn). Field experiment was conducted by growing synthetic wastewater irrigated potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L.) in lysimeters packed with sandy soil, contaminated with heavy metals. Prior to conducting the study, heavy metals Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn were present in top 0.10 m of lysimeter soil within ranges of 15.6–23.9, 23.3–27.6, 30.3–62.2, 11538.6–10847.7, 64.9–131.3 and 38.7–46.8 mg kg−1, respectively. Irrigation occurred eight times, at an interval of 10 days, based on the crop water requirement. After every irrigation, soil samples were collected from different depths (surface, 0.10, 0.30 and 0.60 m) for heavy metal analysis. Upon maturity, potato tubers, plant root, stems, leaf, tuber flesh and tuber peel tissues were sampled separately for heavy metal analysis. Soil samples, collected at the end of the experiment, were also subjected to pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC) analysis. Compared to the control, treatment SAP+GBC was able to retain significantly higher amounts of Cd, Cr and Fe in topsoil (0–0.10 m depth; p
ISSN:2352-1864
2352-1864
DOI:10.1016/j.eti.2020.100952