Maize straw application reduced cadmium and increased arsenic uptake in wheat and enhanced the rhizospheric bacterial communities in alkaline-contaminated soil

Reclamation of co-pyrolyzed dredging sediment as soil cadmium and arsenic immobilization material: Immobilization efficiency, application safety, and underlying mechanisms

The safe management of toxic metal-polluted dredging sediment (DS) is imperative owing to its potential secondary hazards. Herein, the co-pyrolysis product (DS@BC) of polluted DS was creatively applied to immobilize soil Cd and As to achieve DS resource utilization, and the efficiency, safety, and mechanism were investigated. The results revealed that the DS@BC was more effective at reducing soil Cd bioavailability than the DS was (58.9-73.2% vs. 21.8-27.4%), except for the dilution effect, whereas the opposite phenomenon occurred for soil As (25.5-35.7% vs. 35.7-42.8%). The DS@BC immobilization efficiency was dose-dependent for both Cd and As. Soil labile Cd and As were transformed to more stable fractions after DS@BC immobilization. DS@BC immobilization inhibited the transfer of soil Cd and As to Brassica chinensis L. and did not cause excessive accumulation of other toxic metals in the plants. The appropriate addition of the DS@BC (8%) sufficiently alleviated the oxidative stress response of the plants and enhanced their growth. These findings indicate that the DS@BC was safe and effective for soil Cd and As immobilization. DS@BC immobilization decreased the diversity and richness of the rhizosphere soil bacterial community because of the dilution effect. The DS@BC immobilized soil Cd and As via direct adsorption, and indirect increasing soil pH, and regulating the abundance of specific beneficial bacteria (e.g., Bacillus). Therefore, the use of co-pyrolyzed DS as a soil Cd and As immobilization material is a promising resource utilization method for DS. Notably, to verify the long-term effects and safety of DS@BC immobilization, field trials should be conducted to explore the effectiveness and risk of harmful metal release from DS@BC immobilization under real-world conditions.

Medical waste incineration fly ash-based magnesium potassium phosphate cement: Calcium-reinforced chlorine solidification/stabilization mechanism and optimized carbon reduction process strategy

The traditional solidification/stabilization (S/S) technology, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), has been widely criticized due to its poor resistance to chloride and significant carbon emissions. Herein, a S/S strategy based on magnesium potassium phosphate cement (MKPC) was developed for the medical waste incineration fly ash (MFA) disposal, which harmonized the chlorine stabilization rate and potential carbon emissions. The in-situ XRD results indicated that the Cl- was efficiently immobilized in the MKPC system with coexisting Ca2+ by the formation of stable Ca5(PO4)3Cl through direct precipitation or intermediate transformation (the Cl- immobilization rate was up to 77.29%). Additionally, the MFA-based MKPC also demonstrated a compressive strength of up to 39.6 MPa, along with an immobilization rate exceeding 90% for heavy metals. Notably, despite the deterioration of the aforementioned S/S performances with increasing MFA incorporation, the potential carbon emissions associated with the entire S/S process were significantly reduced. According to the Life Cycle Assessment, the potential carbon emissions decreased to 8.35 × 102 kg CO2-eq when the MFA reached the blending equilibrium point (17.68 wt.%), while the Cl- immobilization rate still remained above 65%, achieving an acceptable equilibrium. This work proposes a low-carbon preparation strategy for MKPC that realizes chlorine stabilization, which is instructive for the design of S/S materials.