The role of arbuscular mycorrhiza on change of heavy metal speciation in rhizosphere of maize in wastewater irrigated agriculture soil

To understand the roles of mycorrhiza in metal speciation in the rhizosphere and the impact on increasing host plant tolerance against excessive heavy metals in soil, maize(Zea mays L.) inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus(Glomus mosseae) was cultivated in heavy metal contaminated soil. Speciations of copper, zinc and lead in the soil were analyzed with the technique of sequential extraction. The results showed that,in comparison to the bolked soil, the exchangeable copper increased from 26% to 43% in non-infected and AM-infected rhizoshpere respectively; while other speciation (organic, carbonate and Fe-Mn oxide copper) remained constant and the organic bound zinc and lead also increased but the exchangeable zinc and lead were undetectable. The organic bound copper, zinc and lead were higher by 15%, 40% and 20%, respectively, in the rhizosphere of arbuscular mycorrhiza infected maize in comparison to the non-infected maize. The results might indicate that mycorrhiza could protect its host plants from the phytotoxicity of excessive copper, zinc and lead by changing the speciation from bio-available to the non-bio-available form. The fact that copper and zinc accumulation in the roots and shoots of mycorrhia infected plants were significantly lower than those in the non-infected plants might also suggest that mycorrhiza efficiently restricted excessive copper and zinc absorptions into the host plants. Compared to the non-infected seedlings, the lead content of infected seedlings was 60% higher in shoots. This might illustrate that mycorrhiza have a different mechanism for protecting its host from excessive lead phytotoxicity by chelating lead in the shoots.

The Factors for Transformation between the Fractions of Speciation of Trace Metals in Lake Sediments

Objective Despite the fact that the bioavailability of trace metals indicated by their speciation has been an indispensable parameter in the assessment and treatment of the environmental pollution of trace metals, many studies have suggested that the bioavailability of trace metals may change according to the conditions of the environment, and the speciation of trace metals can also transform between some fractions. These transformations are related with these factors such as the compositions, microorganism, time, and other physical-chemical conditions of the system. Our work aims to systematically investigate and probe the factors to affect the transformation aside from analysis at certain time-place. The results of these understanding and investigations can be used for reasonably determining the allocation of financial and technical resources in natural and engineered processes, with bringing about inspirations from the evolution of the speciation of the trace metals on environmental impacts.

TiO2 nanoparticles in aquatic environments:impact on heavy metals distribution in sediments and overlying water

The extensive application of TiO_(2)nanoparticles(NPs)highlights the importance of investigating their influence on aquatic systems.In this work,the effect of TiO_(2)NPs on heavy metals speciation was studied on a lab scale.For this goal,a series of aquaria containing water,sediment,and TiO_(2)NPs with various concentrations were set up.The study results revealed that TiO_(2)NPs caused(copper)Cu,(mercury)Hg,(titanium)Ti,and(zinc)Zn to be adsorbed by sediments in the forms of exchangeable and Fe-Mn species.According to measurements,30μg/L of TiO_(2)NPs made Cu,Hg,Ti and Zn concentration in the water column decreased from 33,1.14,20,and 32 to 4,0.58,3,and 22.3μg/L,respectively.Manganese(Mn)was also adsorbed by sediment,and in all experiments,its concentration in the water column reduced from 44 to about 20μg/L.Due to the photocatalytic capacity of TiO_(2)NPs,arsenic(As)concentration in the water column increased from 0 to 8.7μg/L with the introduction of30μg/L of TiO_(2)NPs.The sequential extraction results showed that in all experiments,concentrations of lead(Pb),nickel(Ni),and cobalt(Co)remained constant in different chemical species of sediment,which meant conservative behavior of them in presence of TiO_(2)NPs.In addition,a remarkable change was observed in water quality parameters such as ORP,TDS,TOC,BOD,NO3’and PO_(4)after the introduction of TiO_(2)NPs to aquaria.The reason behind these changes could be related to the decomposition of sediment organic content by TiO_(2)NPs.

Free cupric ions in contaminated agricultural soils around a copper mine in eastern Nanjing City, China

To determine the environmental free metal ion activity was a recent hot issue. A method to measure low-level free cupric ion activity in soil solution extracted with 0.01 mol/L KNO3 was developed by using cupric ion-selective electrode （ISE） and calibrating with Cu-buffer solution. Three copper buffers including iminodiacetic acid （IDA）, ethylenediamine （EN）, and glycine （Gly） were compared for calibrating the Cu-ISE curves in the range of free cupric ions （pCu^2＋） 7-13. The Cu-EN buffer showed the best electrode response and thus was applied as the calibration buffer. The pCu^2＋ of 39 contaminated agricultural soils around a copper mine was measured, ranging from 5.03 to 9.20. Most Cu in the soil solutions was found to be complexed with dissolved soil organic matters, averaging 98.1%. The proportion of free Cu^2＋ ions in the soil solutions decreased with the increasing of solution pH. Soluble Cu and free Cu^2＋ ions concentrations were analyzed by multiple linear regressions to evaluate the effects of soil properties on metal levels and speciation. The results showed that soil solution pH was the most significant factor influencing pCu^2＋ （with R^2 value of 0.76）, while not important for the soluble Cu concentration.

Sequential Speciation Analysis of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Pipe Scales by Mass Spectrometry

An electrochemical mass spectrometry technique was developed based on a homemade analytical device for sequential analysis of the heavy metals with various speciations in the scales.Four speciations(e.g.,water-soluble speciation,organic speciation,indissoluble speciation and elemental speciation)of heavy metals are sequentially extracted by H_(2)O,CH_(3)OH,EDTA-2Na and electrolysis for online electrospray ionization mass spectrometry(ESI-MS)detection.The method takes significant advantages,such as requiring no tedious offline sample pretreatment,high speed of analysis(20 min),high throughput(multi-metals),good sensitivity(0.5µg/L)and rich chemical information(four speciations).As a result,the rapid comprehensive characterization of four speciations of Pb,Ni,Cu,Zn,Fe,Ba,Mn,Cr and Ca in water pipe scales has been qualitatively achieved.It demonstrated that the present method is a powerful tool for the effective assessment of potential hazards in drinking water,which provides a new analytical idea for evaluating water quality.

Metal distribution characteristic of MSWI bottom ash in view of metal recovery

Bottom ash is the major by-product of municipal solid waste incineration（MSWI）, and is often reused as an engineering material, such as road-base aggregate. However, some metals（especially aluminum） in bottom ash can react with water and generate gas that could cause expansion and failure of products containing the ash; these metals must be removed before the ash is utilized. The size distribution and the chemical speciation of metals in the bottom ash from two Chinese MSWI plants were examined in this study, and the recovery potential of metals from the ash was evaluated. The metal concentrations in these bottom ashes were lower than that generated in other developed countries. Specifically, the contents of Al,Fe, Cu and Zn were 18.9–29.2, 25.5–32.3, 0.7–1.0 and 1.6–2.5 g/kg, respectively. Moreover,44.9–57.0 wt.% of Al and 55.6–75.4 wt.% of Fe were distributed in bottom ash particles smaller than 5 mm. Similarly, 46.6–79.7 wt.% of Cu and 42.9–74.2 wt.% of Zn were concentrated in particles smaller than 3 mm. The Fe in the bottom ash mainly existed as hematite, and its chemical speciation was considered to limit the recovery efficiency of magnetic separation.

Characterization strategy of polymeric transition metal species transformation for high-purity metal recovery

The aqueous metal species with similar chemical properties are usually extracted together,limiting deep separation for high-purity metal.However,rare attention has been paid to metal speciation characterization and transformation during separation.Herein,the hydrolysis evolution of polymeric metal species was investigated systematically by electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry(ESI-TOF-MS).The transformation evolutions were visualized with respect to characteristic vanadium species(V_(1),V_(2),V_(3),V_(4) and V_(10)),chromium species(Cr_(1) and Cr_(2)),tungsten(W_(1),W_(2),W_(4),W_(6) and W_(10))and molybdenum(Mo_(1),Mo_(2) and Mo_(4))species.The key characteristics(such as specfic pHs and concentrations)for speciation variation were revealed.The polymerization behavior of several transition metals can be semiquantitative characterized by this strategy.The sufficient speciation transformation provides a solid base for metal speciation chemistry,and guides further development of high-purity metal recovery.

Distribution and Transport of Residual Lead and Copper Along Soil Pro?les in a Mining Region of North China

Residual heavy metals are commonly considered to be immobile in soils,leading to an underestimation of their environmental risk.This study investigated the distribution and transport of residual heavy metals along soil pro?les,using the Xiaoqinling gold mining region in North China as a case study.Soil samples were collected at three depths from three locations near the tailing heap.The speciation of copper(Cu) and lead(Pb)(exchangeable,carbonate-bound,Fe-Mn oxide-bound,organic matter-bound,and residual fractions) was determined using a sequential extraction procedure.The residual fraction's morphology was observed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Results showed that metal fraction distributions along the soil pro?les were in?uenced by each fraction's mobility.Residual fraction with high chemical stability can not be transformed from or into other fractions.This led to the conclusion that the high concentration of residual metals in soils mainly resulted from residual fraction transport.The SEM analysis showed that ?ne particles(submicrons) were mainly attached to large particles and were likely released and transported by water?ow.The more sorptive fractions(non-residual fractions) were mainly retained in the top soil,and the more mobile fractions(residual fraction) were mainly leached to the deep soil.Cu and Pb concentrations in the residual fraction decreased slightly and those in the non-residual fractions decreased signi?cantly with soil depth.These suggest a relatively higher residual metal mobility along the soil pro?les.Therefore,residual metals can be transported in soils and their environmental risk can not be ignored in assessing soil contamination.