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Remediation Techniques to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Pollution by Heavy Metals

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Pollution Prevention, Mitigation and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 18 June 2024 | Viewed by 3221

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yuanan Hu

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Guest Editor

School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Interests: soil pollution; heavy metals; source apportionment; polluton prevention
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Wumei Xu

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Guest Editor

School of Energy & Environment Science, Yunnan Normal University
Interests: Heavy metal pollution; phytoremediation; hyperaccumulating plants; biochar; ecological restoration; microbial ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil plays a fundamental role in food safety, and the adverse effects of contaminants on crops and vegetables pose severe threats to human health. In recent years, soil contamination by heavy metals has garnered widespread attention. Heavy metals in soils can be contributed by both natural and anthropogenic sources, such as mining, smelting, fossil fuel combustion, industrial production, and agrochemical applications. The transformation and accumulation of heavy metals in soils, their consequent risks, and pollution control and remediation measures are important topics in the field of environmental research. Generally, reducing the emission from various sources is an effective strategy for improving soil quality, and remediation techniques have been developed to clean up or restore polluted soils. These remediation methods may employ different working mechanisms and have specific advantages and limitations.

This Special Issue aims to share the experiences and knowledge in the field of heavy metal soil pollution and remediation techniques. We welcome submissions of both original research articles and reviews. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

Emission and transportation of heavy metals from various sources;
Transformation, accumulation, and fate of heavy metals in soils;
Soil contamination by heavy metals;
Risk assessment of heavy metals in soils;
Control measures of heavy metals;
Remediation techniques for soils contaminated by heavy metals;

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Yuanan Hu
Dr. Wumei Xu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

heavy metals
soil pollution
soil remediation
environmental geochemistry
transformation
fate
risk assessment
heavy metal removal

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3374 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Source Apportionment and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Agricultural Soils in a Typical Mining and Smelting Industrial Area

by Wei Li, Xudong Cao, Yuanan Hu and Hefa Cheng

Sustainability 2024, 16(4), 1673; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041673 - 18 Feb 2024

Viewed by 634

Abstract

Source apportionment and risk assessment are critical for making effective pollution prevention and control policies. The study was carried out to assess source-specific ecological and human health risks associated with heavy metals in farmland soils in Yingtan City based on apportionment results of receptor models. Multivariate analysis and the APCS-MLR model consistently revealed that As, Ni, and Cr in agricultural soils may be mainly derived from natural sources, while the contents of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb have been significantly elevated by human activities. According to the outputs of the APCS-MLR model, Cu (34.3%), Zn (67.2%), Pb (75.1%), and Cd (67.9%) primarily originated from the industrial activities related to mineral mining and non-ferrous metal smelting processes. The source-specific ecological risk assessment indicated that industrial sources were the primary contributor to the total ecological risks, posing moderate to high risks in the southern mountainous regions. Natural origins played a significant role in the health risks due to the substantial amounts of As naturally occurring in the soils. The findings could guide the development of effective risk management and pollution control measures for agricultural soils. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remediation Techniques to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Pollution by Heavy Metals)

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17 pages, 2167 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Arsenic Immobilization for Paddy Field and Improvement of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Growth through Cerium–Manganese Modified Wheat Straw Biochar Application

by Ting Liang and Lianfang Li

Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16161; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316161 - 21 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 777

Abstract

Arsenic (As) frequently emerges in paddy soils, necessitating measures to combat soil pollution and protect rice crops from As contamination. In this study, a novel functional biochar (MBC) by loading cerium manganese oxide was prepared, and its effects on soil As immobilization and As uptake by rice in two different As-contaminated paddy soils of 68.99 and 158.52 mgAs·kg⁻¹ (marked as soil-L and soil-H, respectively) were detected. The pot experiment manifested that MBC performed better in stabilizing soil As than original biochar. The incorporation of MBC facilitated the conversion of soil active As to the stable state, promoted the growth of rice plants, and reduced As uptake by rice. Specifically, the total plant biomasses for MBC treatment were increased by 16.13–70.07% and 12.36–92.58% in soil-L and soil-H compared with CK (without material input), respectively. MBC treatments resulted in a reduction of As contents by 34.67–60.13% in roots, 43.68–66.90% in stems, and 54.72–64.65% in leaves for soil-L. Furthermore, in soil-H, the As content in rice roots, stems, and leaves showed a decrease by 49.26–79.03%, 87.10–94.63%, and 75.79–85.71% respectively. This study provides important insights for the remediation of As-contaminated paddy soil using MBC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remediation Techniques to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Pollution by Heavy Metals)

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Review

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15 pages, 2176 KiB

Open AccessReview

Remediation of Arsenic and Cadmium Co-Contaminated Soil: A Review

by Mengting Lin, Sairu Ma, Jie Liu, Xusheng Jiang and Demin Dai

Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 687; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020687 - 12 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1374

Abstract

The concurrent presence of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) contamination in soil is widespread and severe, highlighting the need for remediation. However, remediating As and Cd co-contaminated soils is more complex than remediating soils contaminated with a single heavy metal due to the opposite properties of As and Cd in soil. Thus, the different forms of As and Cd in co-contaminated soils and their transformation rules have been systematically reviewed in this paper. Simultaneously, hyperaccumulators and immobilization amendments used in the remediation of As–Cd co-contaminated soil were reviewed. Moreover, the mechanisms of phytoremediation and chemical immobilization techniques in the treatment of As and Cd co-contaminated soil and the remediation effects were expounded in detail. To promote the development of ecological civilization, this paper proposes further remediation strategies and guidance for the remediation of As–Cd co-contaminated soil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remediation Techniques to Mitigate the Effects of Soil Pollution by Heavy Metals)

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