Development and Application of a Modified Biochar-Calcium Alginate Composite (MB-CA) for In Situ Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Soil

Agricultural monitoring reveals cadmium (Cd) as the most prevalent heavy metal pollutant in Chinese agricultural soils, with 7.0% of sampled sites exceeding the national soil environmental quality standard (GB 15618-2018), creating substantial risks for crop safety. In situ remediation is a cost-eff...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sijia Sun, Yuying Wang, Yanru Zhang, Lina Wu, Xinyi Wang, Guoyu Wang, Weitao Sun, Dasong Lin, Yajun Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Gels
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/5/375
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849326997565603840
author Sijia Sun
Yuying Wang
Yanru Zhang
Lina Wu
Xinyi Wang
Guoyu Wang
Weitao Sun
Dasong Lin
Yajun Wang
author_facet Sijia Sun
Yuying Wang
Yanru Zhang
Lina Wu
Xinyi Wang
Guoyu Wang
Weitao Sun
Dasong Lin
Yajun Wang
author_sort Sijia Sun
collection DOAJ
description Agricultural monitoring reveals cadmium (Cd) as the most prevalent heavy metal pollutant in Chinese agricultural soils, with 7.0% of sampled sites exceeding the national soil environmental quality standard (GB 15618-2018), creating substantial risks for crop safety. In situ remediation is a cost-effective method that can modify the speciation and migration properties of Cd in soil. The previous stage of research studies conducted basic characterization of materials and predicted their adsorption capacity in solution environments. This study focuses on the application effects in soil environment. We cross-linked modified biochar and calcium alginate hydrogels to fabricate a composite material (MB-CA) and determined its excellent adsorption performance for cadmium. This study is a continuation of our previous work, focusing on determining the thermodynamic model of adsorption materials, the applicable environment of composite materials, the influence on soil microorganisms, and its effect on the reduction in Cd content in agricultural products. The research found that the adsorption of Cd<sup>2+</sup> by MB-CA conforms to the Freundlich isotherm model. MB-CA has the ability to regulate pH, achieving outstanding adsorption capacity at pH 4–6. The effect of MB-CA on lettuce is verified through pot experiment and field experiment. The Cd<sup>2+</sup> content in plants decreased by 63.11% and 76.92%, respectively. Additionally, MB-CA did not negatively impact microbial abundance. This study further discussed the performance and application effect of MB-CA, providing new solutions for soil remediation.
format Article
id doaj-art-4678b8cd7d6f4a4eb02fb7038ba6faff
institution Kabale University
issn 2310-2861
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Gels
spelling doaj-art-4678b8cd7d6f4a4eb02fb7038ba6faff2025-08-20T03:48:01ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612025-05-0111537510.3390/gels11050375Development and Application of a Modified Biochar-Calcium Alginate Composite (MB-CA) for In Situ Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated SoilSijia Sun0Yuying Wang1Yanru Zhang2Lina Wu3Xinyi Wang4Guoyu Wang5Weitao Sun6Dasong Lin7Yajun Wang8College of Resources and Environment Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, ChinaCollege of Agriculture and Forestry Technology, Weifang Vocational College, Weifang 262737, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, ChinaResource Environment, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, ChinaResource Environment, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, ChinaAgro-Environmental Protection Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tianjin 300191, ChinaAgricultural monitoring reveals cadmium (Cd) as the most prevalent heavy metal pollutant in Chinese agricultural soils, with 7.0% of sampled sites exceeding the national soil environmental quality standard (GB 15618-2018), creating substantial risks for crop safety. In situ remediation is a cost-effective method that can modify the speciation and migration properties of Cd in soil. The previous stage of research studies conducted basic characterization of materials and predicted their adsorption capacity in solution environments. This study focuses on the application effects in soil environment. We cross-linked modified biochar and calcium alginate hydrogels to fabricate a composite material (MB-CA) and determined its excellent adsorption performance for cadmium. This study is a continuation of our previous work, focusing on determining the thermodynamic model of adsorption materials, the applicable environment of composite materials, the influence on soil microorganisms, and its effect on the reduction in Cd content in agricultural products. The research found that the adsorption of Cd<sup>2+</sup> by MB-CA conforms to the Freundlich isotherm model. MB-CA has the ability to regulate pH, achieving outstanding adsorption capacity at pH 4–6. The effect of MB-CA on lettuce is verified through pot experiment and field experiment. The Cd<sup>2+</sup> content in plants decreased by 63.11% and 76.92%, respectively. Additionally, MB-CA did not negatively impact microbial abundance. This study further discussed the performance and application effect of MB-CA, providing new solutions for soil remediation.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/5/375modified biocharcalcium alginateCd pollutionin situ passivation
spellingShingle Sijia Sun
Yuying Wang
Yanru Zhang
Lina Wu
Xinyi Wang
Guoyu Wang
Weitao Sun
Dasong Lin
Yajun Wang
Development and Application of a Modified Biochar-Calcium Alginate Composite (MB-CA) for In Situ Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Soil
Gels
modified biochar
calcium alginate
Cd pollution
in situ passivation
title Development and Application of a Modified Biochar-Calcium Alginate Composite (MB-CA) for In Situ Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Soil
title_full Development and Application of a Modified Biochar-Calcium Alginate Composite (MB-CA) for In Situ Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Soil
title_fullStr Development and Application of a Modified Biochar-Calcium Alginate Composite (MB-CA) for In Situ Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Soil
title_full_unstemmed Development and Application of a Modified Biochar-Calcium Alginate Composite (MB-CA) for In Situ Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Soil
title_short Development and Application of a Modified Biochar-Calcium Alginate Composite (MB-CA) for In Situ Remediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Soil
title_sort development and application of a modified biochar calcium alginate composite mb ca for in situ remediation of cadmium contaminated soil
topic modified biochar
calcium alginate
Cd pollution
in situ passivation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/5/375
work_keys_str_mv AT sijiasun developmentandapplicationofamodifiedbiocharcalciumalginatecompositembcaforinsituremediationofcadmiumcontaminatedsoil
AT yuyingwang developmentandapplicationofamodifiedbiocharcalciumalginatecompositembcaforinsituremediationofcadmiumcontaminatedsoil
AT yanruzhang developmentandapplicationofamodifiedbiocharcalciumalginatecompositembcaforinsituremediationofcadmiumcontaminatedsoil
AT linawu developmentandapplicationofamodifiedbiocharcalciumalginatecompositembcaforinsituremediationofcadmiumcontaminatedsoil
AT xinyiwang developmentandapplicationofamodifiedbiocharcalciumalginatecompositembcaforinsituremediationofcadmiumcontaminatedsoil
AT guoyuwang developmentandapplicationofamodifiedbiocharcalciumalginatecompositembcaforinsituremediationofcadmiumcontaminatedsoil
AT weitaosun developmentandapplicationofamodifiedbiocharcalciumalginatecompositembcaforinsituremediationofcadmiumcontaminatedsoil
AT dasonglin developmentandapplicationofamodifiedbiocharcalciumalginatecompositembcaforinsituremediationofcadmiumcontaminatedsoil
AT yajunwang developmentandapplicationofamodifiedbiocharcalciumalginatecompositembcaforinsituremediationofcadmiumcontaminatedsoil