Low-thermal remediation of mercury-contaminated soil and cultivation of treated soil

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2018-08, Vol.25 (24), p.24135-24142
• Main Authors: Zhao, Ting, Yu, Zhi, Zhang, Junfang, Qu, Liya, Li, Ping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Agricultural pollution; Agriculture; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Chemical industry; Chemical plants; China; Corn; Crops; Crops, Agricultural - drug effects; Crops, Agricultural - growth & development; Crops, Agricultural - metabolism; Cultivation; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Restoration and Remediation - methods; Environmental science; Heat treatment; Mercury; Mercury (metal); Mercury - analysis; Mercury - chemistry; Mercury - pharmacokinetics; Methylmercury Compounds - analysis; Methylmercury Compounds - chemistry; Organic chemistry; Organic soils; Plant Roots - chemistry; Plant Roots - metabolism; Potatoes; Raphanus - chemistry; Raphanus - drug effects; Raphanus - metabolism; Remediation; Research Article; Soil - chemistry; Soil contamination; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Soil Pollutants - chemistry; Soil Pollutants - pharmacokinetics; Soil pollution; Soil remediation; Soil treatment; Solanum tuberosum - drug effects; Solanum tuberosum - metabolism; Sustainable remediation; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Zea mays - drug effects; Zea mays - metabolism
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-2387-2

In this study, low-thermal technology was used to treat the mercury contaminated farmland soil from a chemical plant in Guizhou Province, China. A series of field planting experiments were also aimed at determining the content of total and methyl-Hg in crop plants after thermal treatment. The results showed that the mercury concentration in soils was reduced about 70% from 255.74 mg/kg to 80.63 mg/kg when treated at 350 °C for 30 min in engineering-scale experiments, and the treated soil retained most of its original soil. Organic-bound and residual mercury in treated soil were reduced by 64.1 and 56.4% by means of a sequential extraction procedure, respectively. The total and methyl-mercury concentrations in crops decreased significantly, and the degree of soil mercury accumulation to crop roots has been reduced significantly. The total Hg concentrations in potato and corn were lower than the mercury tolerance limits for food in China, and the Hg concentration of radish was close to the limit. The technology provides a more sustainable remediation method for treating mercury-contaminated farmland soil in future engineering applications.