JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

Reflectance spectroscopy is a fast and safe method to predict soil physicochemical and biological properties in low cost ways. Traditional methods to determine soil properties require spending a lot of time and money so that farmers are generally reluctant to use the results of laboratory measurements in soil and water management. Reflectance spectroscopy in the spectral range of 400-2500 nm (VNIR) is an alternative method for estimating the soil properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of laboratory spectrometer to estimate the concentration of Lead (Pb) and Nickel (Ni) in soils irrigated with water from treatment of urban sewage sludge of Rey city and finally to compare these results with the results of measurements of atomic absorption spectrometry. In this study, the Partial Linear Square Regression (PLSR) model was used to estimate the concentration of heavy metals and Residual Mean Square Error (RMSE) was used to evaluate the performance of this model. In this research, after spectral corrections related to elimination of the water absorption bands as well as elimination of the inefficient spectrum from heavy metals estimations, the methods of estimating these elements were studied through mathematical derivation of spectral values and also the acquisition of the continuum removal spectra. The results show that the estimated values from first derivate spectra are more consistent with the results of atomic absorption spectrometers.

Water and soil pollution with heavy metals has become a worldwide environmental issue. Therefore, development of efficient and low-cost methods for removal of metals from water or metal stabilization in soil has been identified as priority research areas. Biochar, produced from plant biomass and agricultural wastes, has recently been used to remove heavy metals from aqueous solutions as an effective sorbent. In this study, biochars were made from pyrolysis of palm tree residues at different temperatures of 200, 400 and 600 °C. The prepared biochars were then used to remove Ni from aqueous solutions in batch systems without pH adjustment and with pH adjustment at 7. To investigate Ni sorption rate, kinetic experiments were also carried out at a Ni concentration of 10 mg/L. The results of kinetic tests showed that the biochar prepared at 600 °C had more Ni sorption rate with equilibration time of about 5 h. Power function and Elovich models were the best equations fitted the kinetic data. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms described sorption of Ni on the sorbents very well. According to the Langmuir model predictions, the biochar produced at 600 °C and the palm raw residues had highest and the lowest capacity to sorb Ni from the solution, respectively, and the biochars produced at 200°C and 400°C were intermediate in this respect. Both the capacity and affinity of the biochars for Ni sorption increased with pH. Overall, under the experimental conditions applied in this study, the biochar prepared at 600 °C showed the highest efficiency for Ni removal from aqueous solution.

The effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM), derived from compost, on the sorption of simazine by soils were studied using a batch equilibrium technique. Six soils with different organic carbon contents were investigated in this study. Simazine sorption isotherms on soils were described by the linear equation, and the distribution coefficients without DOM (K_d) or with DOM (K_d*) were obtained. Generally, the values of K_d*/K_d were initially increased and then decreased with raising DOM concentrations of 0-65 mg DOC·L in the soil-solution system form. Critical concentrations of DOM (DOM_np) were obtained, and the value of K_d* was equal to K_d. The presence of DOM with concentrations lower than DOM_np promoted simazine sorption on the soils (K_d* > K_d), whereas the presence of DOM with concentrations higher than DOM_np tended to inhibit the simazine sorption (K_d* < K_d). Interestingly, DOM_np for the tested soils was negatively correlated to the soil organic carbon content, and the maximum of K_d*/K_d (K_max) was correlated positively with the maximum of DOM sorption on the soil (X_max). Further investigations also showed that the presence of the hydrophobic fraction of DOM evidently promoted the simazine sorption on soils, whereas the presence of hydrophilic DOM fraction obviously tended to inhibit the simazine sorption.

To study the behaviour of phosphorus (P) sorption in the agricultural soils of Khoy region and the effect of long-term cultural management with the application of poultry manure on the P sorption parameters, bath experiments were carried out with 16 soil samples (8 cultivated and 8 virgin soils) and 9 initial P concentrations from 0 to 30 mg L-1 in 0.01M CaCl₂ as a background solution. After equilibrium, the remaining amount of P in solution was measured and the experimental sorption data were fitted to the Langmuir (R²=0.93-0.99) and Freundlich (R²=0.87-0.99) models. The results showed that P sorption was increased with enhancing the initial P concentration, eventually reaching the steady-state plateau. Based on the coefficient of determination (R²) and the standard error of estimate (SE), both isotherms models, Langmuir and Freundlich, showed a relatively good fit to the experimental data. The maximum mono layer sorption of Langmuir (qmax) varied from 233 to 486 and from 340 to540 mg kg^-1, and the energy parameter of Langmuir (KL) ranged from 0.12 to 0.50 and from 0.22 to 0.71 for the cultivated and virgin soils, respectively. Freundlich sorption capacity (KF) and intensity (n) parameters showed the same trends and KF varied from 36.4 to 123 and 59.3 to 145.2; also n varied from 1.18 to 1.50 and 1.47 to 1.71 in the cultivated and virgin soils, respectively. Consequently, all sorption parameters and the buffering indices showed a decreasing trend in the cultivated soils, as compared to the corresponding virgin soils and the cultural and fertilization management; especially, the application of the poultry manure in this region reduced phosphorus sorption by soil and then increased phosphorus availability to plants. Hence, less fertilizer would be needed to maintain a favourable P concentration in the soil solution for the optimum plant growth.

Adsorption is one of the most important processes controlling the concentration of zinc (Zn) in the soil solution. The presence of nutrient anions in the solution can affect Zn²⁺ adsorption. In this study, the effect of orthophosphate, nitrate and chloride anions on the Zn²⁺ adsorption in five calcareous soil samples of Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari province was investigated. In order to study the Zn adsorption isotherms, solutions containing 25, 50, 75, 100, 150 and 200 mg/L Zn of ZnSO₄ source were used in KH₂PO₄, KNO₃ and KCl electrolytes (electrolytes concentration equal to 50 mM). The Freundlich, Langmuir, and linear equations were used to investigate the ability to describe the Zn adsorption. Based on the results, the Freundlich and Langmuir equations could describe the Zn adsorption. The results of this study showed that Zn in the presence of orthophosphate anion had the maximum adsorption capacity and  an adsorption intensity higher than that of chloride and nitrate anions; meanwhile, in comparison with nitrate and orthophosphate anions, adsorption energy (k), maximum buffering capacity (MBC), and distribution coefficient (kf) in the presence of chloride anion were higher (p< 0.05). The results of this study, therefore, showed that in the presence of anion orthophosphate, Zn adsorbed more intensity and strongly, while adsorption energy was  less than the presence of  the other two anions. Therefore, it could be concluded that Zn and phosphate fertilizers should not be applied together in the soil.

Fruits and citrus wastes are generated in the food industry in large quantities. Their management in Iran, as one of the major hubs of fruits and citrus production, is of great importance. In this study, the biochar samples were prepared from pomegranate, orange and lemon peel waste produced in a juice factory using the pyrolysis process in the range of 400-500 °C; then their efficiency for zinc adsorption from an aqueous solution was investigated. The kinetic and isotherm data of zinc adsorption were fitted by the linear and nonlinear forms of the Langmuir and Frendlich isotherm models and the first-order and second-order pseudo-kinetics models. The results showed that under the experimental conditions applied, the maximum amount of zinc absorption by biochars derived from pomegranate, orange and lemon peel was 2.42, 1.83 and 3.17 mg/g, respectively. The results of adsorption isotherm models also showed that the use of the linear form could lead to a completely different interpretation, as compared to the original form of the model. Based on the linear forms, the Langmuir isotherm was the best; meanwhile, according to the non-linear forms, the Freundlich isotherm was the best model to describe the adsorption data. In addition, the reaction kinetics indicated that both original and linear models had the same results, and the data were better fitted by the pseudo-second order model.

Shortage of water resources and deterioration of water quality have urged the need to develop new technologies for the removal of contaminants from water. Heavy metals produced by municipal and industrial activities are among the most toxic contaminants present in the natural and waste waters. Different methods have been developed for the elimination of heavy metals from water resources and industrial waste waters. Adsorption is an effective and economic method for the water purification purposes. Nowadays, clays and natural polymers have been widely used as the adsorbents for heavy metals, due to their eco-friendly nature, natural abundance, low cost and high specific surface area. If these adsorbents are used as a hybrid material, some of their physical and chemical restrictions would be alleviated. In this study, polyacrylic acid–bentonite hybrids and natural bentonite were compared in terms of Pb adsorption in the batch and fixed-bed column systems. Besides, the effect of pH on Pb retention was investigated in both systems. The results of the batch studies showed that Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were appropriate in ing quilibrium Pb sorption data. Pb sorption by the sorbents was increased with the rise in solution of pH from 4 to 6, showing the greatest Pb sorption capacity at pH values of 4 (83.29 mg g^-1) and 6 (103.3 mg g^-1). Different indices of filtration and adsorption, including average relative effluent concentration, relative adsorption index, relative transmitted index, and filtration coefficient, were calculated from the break-through curves, indicating that the polyacrylic acid-bentonite nanocomposite was superior in the Pb sorbtion, as compared to bentonite. Also, a higher pH value resulted in the greater Pb removal from the solutions.  

Today, to reduce the risks of contaminants, new remediation techniques have been focused on low-cost and environmentally friendly manners. Given the frequency of access, inexpensiveness and good physical and chemical properties, biochar has a high potential for the remediation of water pollutants. In this paper, the efficiency of chitosan engineered biochar (Bc-Ch) and pristine biochar (Bg-Bc) prepared from sugarcane bagasse biomass (Bg) in the Cd²⁺ removal in aqueous solution was investigated. To this aim, the effects of contact time, adsorbent dosage and solution pH on cadmium removal were evaluated by adsorption isotherms and Kinetic models. The results indicated that the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model could be well fitted with the process of cadmium biosorption. The maximum adsorption capacities of Bc-Ch, Bg-Bc and Bg ,according to Langmuir model, were found to be 32/78 mg/g, 11/57 mg/g and 2/23 mg/g, respectively. For these absorbents, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model showed the best fit to the experimental adsorption data. This study, therefore, indicated that the chitosan engineered biochar could be used as an effective, low-cost, and environmentally-friendly sorbent to remediate heavy metals contamination in the environment.

Water resources are limited in many areas of the world; sometimes, even these limited resources are negligently contaminated. One of the polluting factors of water is oil and its derivatives. Oil absorption using textiles is one of the common ways to separate oil from water. In this study, we used three types of textiles with different properties in order to make the filter. The experiments were performed using three different concentrations of 10, 20 and 30% oil. In this study, three types of BC, PET and PP textiles in the presence of horizontal and vertical drainages were investigated. The PET and PP textiles were made of nonwoven polyester and polypropylene fibers, respectively, and the BC textile was a two-component nonwoven textile of both polyester and polypropylene fibers that was used for the first time. Flow through the textiles was turbulent. Coefficients of flow were calculated using non-Darcy flow relations and the optimization method. The results showed that at low oil concentrations, the oil absorption had an inverse relation with the porosity and turbulent flow coefficients, but at higher concentrations, the effect of these agents was less; instead, the effect of the concentration and the intrinsic ability of the non-woven fibers was greater.  The best performance was related to PP and PET with the horizontal drainage that had 95 and 91 absorption rates, respectively.