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Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 36430

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alberto Ferraro

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Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Interests: contaminated soil remediation; soil washing; chelating agents; potential toxic metals; bioremediation; biogas production; anaerobic digestion
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Dr. Marco Race

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Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Via di Biasio 43, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Interests: soil remediation; contaminants of emerging concern (CEC); wastewater treatment; soil management; hazardous waste
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Dr. Danilo Spasiano

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Department of Civil, Environmental, Land, Building Engineering and Chemistry, Polytechnic University of Bari, via E. Orabona, 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials; wastewater treatment; adsorption; solid waste management; soil remediation; photodegradation; degradation; wastewater reuse
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, soil contamination is a worldwide-recognized environmental issue that constantly requires effort from the scientific community to investigate new strategies to perform soil remediation by means of sustainable approaches. The main problem derives from the contaminant typology (i.e., organic or inorganic) as well as the possible contaminant distribution heterogeneity in soil that strongly affects the remediation technique to implement. Besides this, contaminant fractionation in the polluted soil and soil physical–chemical characteristics (such as soil pH, humic acids content, soil particles size distribution, mineralogy, and matrix constituents) contribute to a certain unpredictability in terms of remediation process performances. This has led several researches to focus on the more feasible remediation methods and optimal operational conditions in order to achieve suitable and cost-effective soil remediation efficiencies. However, involved remediation techniques do not always represent a proper solution throughout the entire treatment system from an environmental-safety point of view. In fact, significant concerns about soil quality preservation after treatment for its possible reuse as well as the safe disposal of removed pollutants should be considered. This could represent an important perspective for sustainable remediation processes accounting for healthier and more environmentally friendly strategies.

This Special Issue seeks research papers focusing on various aspects of contaminated soil treatment systems. Especially, we encourage the submission of interdisciplinary works that introduce remediation alternatives connected to an economical/environmental sustainable context. We also encourage the submission of research that significantly emphasizes soil quality safety after treatment and suggests promising solutions to the disposal of removed contaminants. In this Special Issue, the submission of original research papers using different study designs at different operational scales is welcomed, as well as systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Dr. Alberto Ferraro
Dr. Marco Race
Dr. Danilo Spasiano
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Contaminated soil
Soil remediation
Environmental sustainability
Soil ecotoxicity
Soil contaminants fate
Remediated soil quality
Water irrigation management
Ecological risk
Land-use
Potential ecological risk assessment

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 798 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geochemical Baseline Values Determination and Evaluation of Heavy Metal Contamination in Soils of Lanping Mining Valley (Yunnan Province, China)

by Zuran Li, Judith Deblon, Yanqun Zu, Gilles Colinet, Bo Li and Yongmei He

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(23), 4686; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234686 - 25 Nov 2019

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 2995

Abstract

The largest lead/zinc mine in China is located in Lanping mining valley. The real impact of mining activity on the Lanping mining valley has not been studied to date. This study aims to characterize the geochemical baseline values and risk assessment of heavy metal contamination in soils of a study area located in the Lanping mining valley including upstream, mining and downstream areas. The results showed that the mean soil pH value was 6.8, and organic matter was 34.3%, in surface layer of the mining area. The mean soil pH value in the upstream and downstream areas was less than 5.5. The concentrations of Pb and Zn in the mining area were 56 and 47 times above the world average, the concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd in the upstream area were six, seven, and six times above the world average, and the concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd in the downstream area were eight, eight, and 18 times above the world average, respectively. The proposed geochemical baseline values of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd were 169.93, 31.81, 569.06 and 4.13 mg·kg⁻¹, respectively. The pseudo total and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA)-extractable concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd showed similar tendency as follows: mining area > downstream area > upstream area. The contamination degree with the geoaccumulation index (I_geo) and the improved Nemerow index (I_IN) in the upstream and mining areas was non-contamination or slight contamination with low or moderate risk with the individual ecological risk index (E_r) and the comprehensive potential ecological risk index (RI), although moderate or heavy contamination with pollution factor (Pi) and the Nemerow index (I_N). The contamination degree with I_geo and I_IN in the downstream area was non-contamination or extreme contamination with low or extreme risk with E_r and RI. The results suggest that the I_IN should be recommended to assess the soil contamination of heavy metals and the geochemical baseline values would be important for the environmental management and remediation of soils contaminated by heavy metals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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18 pages, 2094 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Competitive Inhibitory Effect of Calcium Polypeptides on Cd Enrichment of Brassia campestris L.

by Hongbing Chen, Fangfang Shu, Sheng Yang, Yadong Li and Shilin Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(22), 4472; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224472 - 14 Nov 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2412

Abstract

Most cadmium-polluted farmland and land surrounding mining areas are difficult to repair and control, seriously threatening the food safety of the crops planted in these regions. As an essential element for plant growth, calcium plays an important role in stress-resistance regulation. In this study, Brassia campestris L. was used as the experimental material and polluted soil with cadmium was used as the experimental soil sample, to explore the competition inhibition of calcium polypeptide application on the absorption of Cd²⁺ by Brassia campestris L. in the growth process, as well as the effect of calcium application on the growth. Results showed that the application of calcium polypeptides significantly promoted the growth of Brassia campestris L. Calcium polypeptides could be used as high-quality fertilizer, alleviating the effect of Cd²⁺ stress on the growth of Brassia campestris L., and promoting the absorption of K⁺, Ca²⁺, and other nutrients by Brassia campestris L. Under different calcium polypeptide application conditions, the effective state of Cd²⁺ in the soil showed less significant difference, indicating that the calcium polypeptide had weak or limited passivation effects on Cd²⁺. There was a significantly negative correlation between Cd concentration in Brassia campestris L. and calcium application (r = −0.99, p < 0.01) when calcium polypeptide was over-applied, which indicates that the inhibition effect of Cd²⁺ absorption on Brassia campestris L. is mainly through competitive inhibition rather than passivation. The results showed that calcium polypeptide has dual functions on the competitive inhibition of heavy metals and a good fertilizer effect, providing a new technology for in situ remediation of heavy-metal pollution, and a new approach for the treatment of cadmium-contaminated farmland and surrounding mining land. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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21 pages, 5073 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implications of Soil Pollution with Diesel Oil and BP Petroleum with ACTIVE Technology for Soil Health

by Agata Borowik, Jadwiga Wyszkowska, Mirosław Kucharski and Jan Kucharski

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(14), 2474; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16142474 - 11 Jul 2019

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 5104

Abstract

Grass Elymus elongatus has a potential in phytoremediation and was used in this study in a potted experiment, which was performed to determine the effect of polluting soil (Eutric Cambisol) with diesel oil (DO) and unleaded petroleum (P) on the diversity of soil microorganisms, activity of soil enzymes, physicochemical properties of soil, and on the resistance of Elymus elongatus to DO and P, which altogether allowed evaluating soil health. Both petroleum products were administered in doses of 0 and 7 cm³ kg⁻¹ soil d.m. Vegetation of Elymus elongatus spanned for 105 days. Grasses were harvested three times, i.e., on day 45, 75, and 105 of the experiment. The study results demonstrated a stronger toxic effect of DO than of P on the growth and development of Elymus elongatus. Diesel oil caused greater changes in soil microbiome compared to unleaded petroleum. This hypothesis was additionally confirmed by Shannon and Simpson indices computed based on operational taxonomic unit (OTU) abundance, whose values were the lowest in the DO-polluted soil. Soil pollution with DO reduced the counts of all bacterial taxa and stimulated the activity of soil enzymes, whereas soil pollution with P diminished the diversity of bacteria only at the phylum, class, order, and family levels, but significantly suppressed the enzymatic activity. More polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were degraded in the soil polluted with P compared to DO, which may be attributed to the stimulating effect of Elymus elongatus on this process, as it grew better in the soil polluted with P than in that polluted with DO. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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10 pages, 1140 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bio-Optimization of Chemical Parameters and Earthworm Biomass for Efficient Vermicomposting of Different Palm Oil Mill Waste Mixtures

by Parveen Fatemeh Rupani, Abbas F. M. Alkarkhi, Mohammad Shahadat, Asha Embrandiri, Hany S. EL-Mesery, Hongcheng Wang and Weilan Shao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(12), 2092; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122092 - 13 Jun 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2460

Abstract

The present study reports mathematical modelling of palm oil mill effluent and palm-pressed fiber mixtures (0% to 100%) during vermicomposting process. The effects of different mixtures with respect to pH, C:N ratio and earthworms have been optimized using the modelling parameters. The results of analysis of variance have established effect of different mixtures of palm oil mill effluent plus palm press fiber and time, under selected physicochemical responses (pH, C:N ratio and earthworm numbers). Among all mixtures, 60% mixture was achieved optimal growth at pH 7.1 using 16.29 C:N ratio in 15 days of vermicomposting. The relationship between responses, time and different palm oil mill waste mixtures have been summarized in terms of regression models. The obtained results of mathematical modeling suggest that these findings have potential to serve a platform for further studies in terms of kinetic behavior and degradation of the biowastes via vermicomposting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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15 pages, 1068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application and Selection of Remediation Technology for OCPs-Contaminated Sites by Decision-Making Methods

by Junping Tian, Zheng Huo, Fengjiao Ma, Xing Gao and Yanbin Wu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(11), 1888; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16111888 - 28 May 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3206

Abstract

The production and use of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) for agricultural and industrial applications result in high levels of their residues, posing a significant risk to environmental and human health. At present, there are many techniques for OCP-contaminated soil remediation. However, the remediation of contaminated sites may suffer from a series of problems, such as a long recovery cycle, high costs, and secondary pollution, all of which could affect land redevelopment and reuse. Therefore, the selection of an appropriate technology is crucial for contaminated sites. In order to improve and support decision-making for the selection of remediation techniques, we provide a decision-making strategy for the screening of remediation techniques of OCP-contaminated sites. The screening procedure is proposed based on combining the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). The screening indexes include economic indicator, environmental indicator, and technical indicator. The assessment results show that co-processing in cement kiln obtained the highest overall score and was thus considered to be the most sustainable option. This suggested remediation technology was similar to the practical remediation project, indicating that the screening method could be applied for the selection of remediation technologies for sites contaminated with persistent organic pollutants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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14 pages, 2283 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Response of Soil Microbes to Vegetation Restoration in Coal Mining Subsidence Areas at Huaibei Coal Mine, China

by Shiyong Sun, Hui Sun, Deshun Zhang, Jianfeng Zhang, Zeyu Cai, Guanghua Qin and Yumin Song

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(10), 1757; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101757 - 17 May 2019

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 3943

Abstract

Vegetation restoration is an available way to ameliorate degraded lands. In order to study the response of soil microbes to vegetation restoration in coal mining subsidence areas, the composition and distribution of soil microbes were discussed through three plots: unsubsided area (CA), new subsided area (NSA), and old subsided area (OSA) with different vegetation restoration time in Huabei coal mine. Meanwhile, changes in soil catalase and urease activity were explored and the correlation between soil bacteria, fungi, and environmental factors was analysed. The results demonstrated that Nitrospira was the dominant bacteria in all areas sampled. Microorganisms in the 0–20 cm and 40–60 cm soil layers of OSA had the highest Simpson index, whereas the index in NSA was lowest (at all soil depths). The catalase activity in NSA was significantly higher than that in CA, and there was no significant difference in catalase activity with soil depth, while the urease activity declined gradually with increasing soil depth. The urease activity in the 20–60 cm soil layer of NSA and OSA was significantly higher than that of CA. Furthermore, the distribution of bacteria was mainly affected by soil organic matter, available potassium, available phosphorus, and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, whereas pH and catalase activity mainly affected fungal distribution. These results implied that soil catalase activity in NSA and urease activity in the 20–40 cm soil layer of NSA and OSA were significantly enhanced after vegetation restoration, and that long-term plant restoration could improve soil fertility and soil microbial community diversity in coal mining areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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13 pages, 1226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Silicon Amendment Reduces Soil Cd Availability and Cd Uptake of Two Pennisetum Species

by Qiyu Dong, Jianbo Fang, Fei Huang and Kunzheng Cai

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(9), 1624; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091624 - 09 May 2019

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 3712

Abstract

Silicon (Si) plays important roles in alleviating heavy metal stress, but the migrating effects and mechanisms, especially for Pennisetum, are not well studied. In this study, Pennisetum glaucum and Pennisetum glaucum × P. purpureum were used to explore the impacts of Si application on alleviating cadmium (Cd) toxicity and its possible mechanism. Treatments consist of four levels of Cd (0, 10, 50, and 100 mg·kg⁻¹) with or without 2.0 mM Si amendments. Under Cd stress, Si application significantly increased plant biomass and Si content, reduced Cd content, and decreased the enrichment factor in shoots and roots. Si treatment also increased soil pH and soil residual Cd, while reducing available/oxidizable/reducible Cd content in soil at 50 and 100 mg·kg⁻¹ Cd levels, thereby leading to a reduction of the soil’s available Cd. These findings indicate that Si application is effective in alleviating Cd phytotoxicity of Pennisetum, mainly through reducing plant Cd uptake and increasing soil pH and Cd immobilization, thereby reducing Cd bioavailability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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13 pages, 2469 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Three-Dimensional Calibration for Routine Analyses of Bromide and Nitrate Ions as Indicators of Groundwater Quality in Coastal Territories

by Francesco Parrino, Giovanni Camera-Roda, Vittorio Loddo and Leonardo Palmisano

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(8), 1419; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16081419 - 19 Apr 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2631

Abstract

Nitrate and bromide ions are generally considered indicators of anthropogenic pollution and seawater intrusion, respectively, in the groundwater of coastal territories. The analysis of these species is generally carried out with routine chromatographic analyses which generally afford partially merged or poorly resolved peaks. In the present paper a simple method for the correct evaluation of their concentration in water is reported. This method does not imply utilization of other instruments or technologies, only the mathematical elaboration of the data obtained from routine analysis of standard solutions containing the two species. Standard binary solutions of nitrate and bromide ions at different concentrations, ranging between 0.1 and 2 mM, were analyzed by means of ion chromatography. Splitting two partially merged chromatographic peaks and considering each resulting area as originating from a single species produces “measured” concentration values which differ from the nominal ones. Such a procedure generates errors (one per species) which can be written as a function of the above mentioned “measured” concentrations and which can be graphically represented by means of a surface in a three-dimensional (3D) space. In this way, “measured” concentrations of bromide and nitrate ions can be corrected by calculating the errors generated under the experimental conditions at which the chromatographic separation is performed. Notably, this is analogous with the two-dimensional (2D) calibration normally carried out for analytical purposes. Indeed, both methods allow estimation of the unknown concentration of species in solution by correlating the instrumental response with the concentration of standard solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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17 pages, 2473 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Land Use/Land Cover Based Green Development Study for Different Functional Regions in the Jiangsu Province, China

by Xiaomin Guo, Xiaowei Chuai and Xianjin Huang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(7), 1277; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16071277 - 10 Apr 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2474

Abstract

Land use/land cover (LULC) change can strongly affect carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems. The rapid development of China’s economy has formed different functional regions. These functional regions profoundly affect land use patterns. Thus, assessing the carbon storage induced by LULC changes is significant for green development. Selecting the typical region of the Jiangsu Province as the study area, this study first examines the research associated with the regional functional characteristics and various high accuracy data and methods have been used to greatly improve the research accuracy. The results showed that from 1995 to 2015, approximately 10.26% of the entire land area had LULC type changes. Additionally, decreases in the built-up land expansion and ecological land were the main LULC change characteristics, which are mainly affected by socioeconomic development. The total carbon storage of the Jiangsu Province decreased by 714.03 × 10⁴ t and the four regions all presented decreasing carbon storage levels. The economically developed regions presented a more obvious loss of carbon. The region with small LULC changes had a lower carbon loss. The land transfer of cultivated land to built-up land is the main transfer type causing the carbon storage loss. This study investigates the human-environmental interactions from the new perspective of functional zoning and, thus, it enriches the comparative analysis of carbon storage in functional regions and provides references for the green development of a developing country’s developed areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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14 pages, 3859 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Remediation of Cd Pollution by the Biomineralization of Urease-Producing Bacteria

by Xingqing Zhao, Min Wang, Hui Wang, Ding Tang, Jian Huang and Yu Sun

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(2), 268; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16020268 - 18 Jan 2019

Cited by 57 | Viewed by 6387

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic metal that can affect human health and environmental safety. The purpose of this study was to research the removal of Cd from an environmental perspective. In this article, four highly urease-active strains (CZW-2, CZW-5, CZW-9 and CZW-12) were isolated from an abandoned mine and their phylogenetic trees were analyzed. The maximum enzyme activities, the mineralized precipitate and the removal rates of these strains were compared. The results showed that CZW-2 had the highest urease activity at 51.6 U/mL, and the removal rates of CZW-2, CZW-5, CZW-9 and CZW-12 after 120 h were 80.10%, 72.64%, 76.70% and 73.40%, with an initial concentration of Cd of 2 mM in the Cd precipitation experiments. XRD (X-ray diffractometer), EDS (Energy dispersive spectrometer) and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) analysis indicated that the mineralized precipitate was CdCO₃. SEM (Scanning electron microscopy) analysis revealed that the diameter of the oval-shaped mineralized product ranked from 0.5 to 2 μm. These strains were used to remedy Cd-contaminated soil, and five different fractions of Cd were measured. Compared with the control, the results of spraying pre-cultured strains containing 2% urea to remove Cd from contaminated soils showed that the exchangeable fraction of Cd decreased by 53.30%, 27.78%, 42.54% and 53.80%, respectively, whereas the carbonate-bound fraction increased by 55.42%, 20.27%, 39.67% and 34.36%, respectively, after one month. These data show that these strains can effectively reduce the bioavailability and mobility of Cd in contaminated soils. The results indicate that biomineralization based on the decomposition of substrate urea can be applied to remedy heavy contaminated soil and water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Strategies for Contaminated Soil Remediation and Safe Reuse)

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