Ecological remediation of cadmium pollution around metallurgical dolomite tailings goaf through the selection of soil amendments
CHEN Bo
YANG Ping
LI Jiameng
PAN Fuxia
ZHANG Yakun
WANG Anqi
LIU Zhendong
REN Zongming
Abstract：Objective The study primarily aims to implement effective and sustainable measures for the remediation of heavy metal pollu-tion.As heavy metal pollution in soil,especially around mining areas,become increasingly severe,it is critical to adopt com-prehensive and effective measures that significantly reduce heavy metal concentration in soil.
Methods The study addressed the specific challenges of cadmium(Cd)pollution in agricultural soil surrounding the tailings goaf of a mining facility in Shibuzi Town,Anqiu City,Shandong Province,China.To mitigate Cd contamination,the study devel-oped four tailored soil amendments:sodium lignosulfonate-modified lignite humic acid,mineral-modified lignite humic acid,chitosan-modified lignite humicacid,and biochar-modified lignite humic acid.These amendments were designed to enhance soil properties and immobilize heavy metals,particularly cadmium.Using advanced analytical techniques,the impact of these modi-fied humic acids on cadmium in the contaminated soil was systematically investigated.Laboratory experiments were conducted over an extended period to monitor changes in chemical speciation,providing a comprehensive understanding of theinteractions between soil amendments and cadmium.Furthermore,the studyanalyzed thephysicochemical properties of the soil before and after adding amendments,ensuring a thorough evaluation of their effectiveness.Based on the performance metrics from these tests,two of the most effective soil amendments were selected for further study and potential large-scale field application.
Results and Discussion The external morphologies of the four amendments closely matched their respective preparation meth-ods,exhibiting advantageous physicochemical properties that enhanced soil quality.Notably,these amendments significantly increased the residual cadmium content in the treated soil,while reducing the bioavailable forms.In addition to the amend-ments,agronomic methods using hyperaccumulator plants,such as L.japonicaThunb.,were employed alongside strategic appli-cations of sodium lignosulfonate-modified lignite humic acid and biochar-modified lignite humic acid.These interventions led to a substantial shiftin cadmium species within the amended soil,leading to a statistically significant reduction(p＜0.05)in cadmi-umconcentrations.These findings underscore the importance of selecting appropriate amendments tailored to specific soil condi-tions.These selected amendments demonstrated a significant reduction in cadmium bioavailability,offering a promising solution for the restoration of Cd-contaminated agricultural soil in the region.
Conclusion This integrated approach achieved highly efficient removal of heavy metals,particularly cadmium(Cd),from con-taminated soil.The efficacy of this method demonstrates its potential as a robust solution for mitigating soil heavy metal pollu-tion.The research results contribute significantly to the field of soil remediation,providing technical support for developing more effective and sustainable remediation techniques.The integration of advanced humic acid-based soil amendments with hyperac-cumulator plants brings an efficient approach to mitigate soil contamination.Throughout the 60-day remediation period,regular monitoring and analysis confirmed the substantial reduction in heavy metal concentrations,validating the effectiveness of the pro-posed strategy.In conclusion,this study presents a novel and promising integrated approach for the remediation of heavy metal pollution insoil.The results provide valuable insights and practical guidance for further development of advanced soil remedia-tion techniques.Future studies should focus on refining this integrated approach to achieve even greater efficacy in mitigating heavy metal pollutionin contaminated soil and ensuring long-term environmental sustainability.
Keywords：metallurgical dolomite tailingheavy metal pollutionlignite humic acidsoil amendmentecological remediation
Publication Date：2025-07-01
Online Publishing Date：2026-05-22(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 187-195 )