article · ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Contamination of agricultural soil with vanadium poses substantial risks to crop growth. This research examined how biochars derived from wood residues and rice hulls alter the movement and plant uptake of vanadium in heavily contaminated acidic soil. Biochar efficacy depended heavily on its chemical surface characteristics. Applying a wood-derived biochar rich in oxygen-containing functional groups at a two point five percent rate reduced water-soluble vanadium by forty-six percent and cut metal accumulation in corn and sorghum shoots by up to eighty-six percent. In contrast, biochars with low oxygen-containing surface groups increased vanadium solubility, creating conditions where test crops failed to grow entirely. Vanadium solubility generally rose as biochars increased soil pH and dissolved organic carbon, whereas soil acidity and the aromatic nature of organic carbon favoured vanadium immobilisation.
Vanadium contamination in soil can poison crops and restrict agricultural production. This work demonstrates that biochar cannot be treated as a universal remedy, as the wrong type can actually mobilise toxic metals and prevent plant growth. Identifying the precise surface chemistry needed to lock vanadium in place helps land managers remediate contaminated ground safely without inadvertently damaging crops.
The findings are relevant to soil remediation companies, biochar producers, and agricultural land managers dealing with metal-contaminated ground. The research indicates that biochar manufacturing must target specific surface functionalities, particularly oxygen-containing groups, to avoid releasing toxins. Because the work reflects early-stage experimental testing in treated soils and pot trials, field validation and application guidelines will be needed before practical commercial deployment.
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The potential of biochar with different surface functionalities to immobilize soil vanadium (V) and reduce its phytoavailability has not been studied. We investigated the effects of different doses (0, 2.5, and 5%) of three biochars derived from rice hull and wood residues on fractionation, mobilization, and plant uptake of V in an acidic soil contaminated with V (3750 mg kg–1). Application of wood biochar, with high O-containing functional groups, at 2.5% decreased the water-soluble V by 46% and the soluble + exchangeable V by 32% in soil, as well as reduced the V uptake by corn and sorghum up to 86% in shoots and 65% in roots. Application of wood and rice hull biochars, with low O-containing functional groups, increased V solubility, and thus corn and sorghum were incapable of growing in treated soils. The higher reactive surface, acidity, abundance of various O-containing functional groups, and hydrophilicity of the former wood biochar contributed to its superior performance. Solubility of V increased with the biochar-induced increase of soil pH and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Soil acidity and aromaticity of DOC are the main factors responsible for V immobilization. These results may help to elucidate the role of biochar in the sustainable management of V-contaminated soils.
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DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c01656
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