Cited by 110Heavy metals in environmentAdsorption and biosorption for pollutant removalEnvironmental and Analytical Chemistry Studies

Effect of immobilizing reagents on soil Cd and Pb lability under freeze-thaw cycles: Implications for sustainable agricultural management in seasonally frozen land

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Hou, Renjie, Wang, Liuwei, O'Connor, David, Tsang, Daniel C.W., Rinklebe, Jörg, Hou, Deyi·2020·Environment International

Abstract

Agricultural soil contamination in seasonally frozen land threatens food security. It is necessary to investigate the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on heavy metal bioavailability so as to select suitable immobilization agents. In this study, the soil was collected from a mid-latitude agricultural site in Liaoning Province, China, which was spiked with cadmium (Cd2+) and lead (Pb2+). Four immobilization treatments were set up, including (i) corn stover biochar, (ii) organic fertilizer, (iii) combined biochar and organic fertilizer, and (iv) the control group. The immobilized soils were subjected to 16 freeze-thaw cycles to temperatures of −10 °C, −20 °C, and −30 °C. It was found that freeze-thaw cycling increased the labile cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) content in the soil (i.e., exchangeable). The organic fertilizer treatment performed best in short-term immobilization, which was demonstrated by the amount of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) extractable lead (Pb) being 17.3–53.3% lower than that of the other treatments, and 7.2–31.5% lower for cadmium (Cd). Biochar, on the other hand, displayed better long-term performance under freeze-thaw cycling. This is probably because the biochar’s organic carbon content is relatively stable, and therefore, releases relatively little dissolved organic carbon (DOC) which could re-mobilize heavy metals. Furthermore, additional sorption sites are formed and the abundance of oxygen-containing functional groups increased when biochar breaks down during freeze-thaw cycles. Overall, the joint application of biochar and organic fertilizer had the greatest immobilization effect, which inhibited the cracking of soil aggregates, reduced the labile metal content, and displayed both short- and long-term immobilization effectiveness. It is suggested that combined biochar and organic fertilizer may offer an effective strategy for the sustainable agricultural management of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) contaminated in seasonally frozen land.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106040

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  • Biochars pyrolyzed at a medium temperature favor contaminant remediation.

    “Biochars pyrolyzed at a medium temperature favor contaminant remediation because the co-existence of well-developed pores and abundant oxygen-containing functional groups (Ahmad et al. 2014; Hou et al. 2020; Hou et al. 2021; Xie et  al. 2015).”

    From Role of biochar toward carbon neutrality (2023) · cites this paper as Hou et al. 2020

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Authors
Hou, R., Wang, L., O'Connor, D., Tsang, D. C. W., Rinklebe, J., & Hou, D.
Affiliations
  • Tsinghua University (CN)
  • Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK)
  • University of Wuppertal (DE)
Corresponding author
Hou, Deyi
Venue
Environment International
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-11
Volume
144
Pages
106040
ISSN
0160-4120 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3049190741
Cited by
110
References
106
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 3
FWCI
3.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environment International (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Royal Agricultural University Repository (Royal Agricultural University) (acceptedVersion)
  • Rare & Special e-Zone (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • PolyU Institutional Research Archive (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFC1801300)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Heavy metals in environment
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Environmental and Analytical Chemistry Studies
Keywords
cadmium, lead, heavy metal immobilization, freeze-thaw cycles, soil metal bioavailability, biochar, corn stover biochar, organic fertilizer, DTPA-extractable metals, dissolved organic carbon, agricultural soil contamination, sustainable agricultural management
MeSH terms
Cadmium, Charcoal, China, Indicators and Reagents, Lead, Soil, Soil Pollutants

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