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Leaching of Cu, Cd, Pb, and phosphorus and their availability in the phosphate-amended contaminated soils under simulated acid rain

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Abstract

Phosphate amendments have been used to immobilize heavy metal-contaminated soils. However, phosphate amendments contain large amounts of phosphorus, which could leach out to potentially contaminate groundwater and surface water. A laboratory column leaching experiment was designed to study the effects of simulated acid rain (SAR) on the potential release of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and phosphorus (P), and their availability after immobilizing with hydroxyapatite (HAP) and potassium dihydrogen phosphate (PDP). The application of HAP and PDP enhanced the leachate electrical conductivity, total organic carbon, and pH. Higher P was found in the PDP- (>4.29 mg L−1) and HAP-treated (>1.69 mg L−1) columns than that in untreated (<0.2 mg L−1) columns, and they were both over the class V limit (0.4 mg L−1) mandated by the Chinese National Quality Standards for Surface Waters (GB 3838-2002). PDP application decreased the leachate Cu, Pb, and Cd effectively; however, HAP addition increased leachate Cu and Pb. HAP and PDP applications decreased the soil CaCl2-extractable and exchangeable fraction of Cu, Pb, and Cd, and increased resin P. However, eluviations transformed the heavy metals from inactive to active fractions and reduced soil labile P. These findings showed that HAP and PDP had a potential risk of excessive P-induced eutrophication. Meanwhile, more attention should be paid to the leaching loss of multiple metals because phosphate amendments might promote the leaching of some metals while immobilizing others.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD030080104 and 2016YFC0201605), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41601340), the Natural Science Foundation of Universities of Anhui Province (KJ2016A191), the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB934302), the National Key Technology Research and Development Program of China (2015BAD05B01), and the Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. We express our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, 232001, China

    Hongbiao Cui, Shiwen Zhang, Ruyan Li, Qitao Yi & Youbiao Hu

  2. Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Hongbiao Cui & Jing Zhou

  3. Shandong Industrial Engineering Laboratory of Biogas Production & Utilization, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 189 Songling Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266101, China

    Xuebo Zheng

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  1. Hongbiao Cui
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Cui, H., Zhang, S., Li, R. et al. Leaching of Cu, Cd, Pb, and phosphorus and their availability in the phosphate-amended contaminated soils under simulated acid rain. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 21128–21137 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9696-8

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