Re-cycling of remediated soil--evaluation of leaching tests as tools for characterization.

In Sweden, leaching tests with deionized water (D.W.) are utilized in risk assessment of materials entering landfills, but implementation of these results to evaluate the risk of spreading of pollutants in the environment is difficult. One problem is that most leaching procedures only consider heavy metals release, whereas organic pollutants are left out. The aim of the present study was to assess the possible pollutant mitigation in four remediated soils, three with heavy metals and one with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) contamination. The mitigation was evaluated by standardized batch and column leaching tests utilizing three different leaching solutions: D.W., a weak ionic solution (0.001 M CaCl(2)) and an artificially made soil water (ASW). In general, batch leaching tests implied larger contaminant removal than column leaching test, possibly due to the more rough treatment of the soil particles, and guidelines would at times be exceeded by the batch leaching test but not by column leaching tests. Utilization of CaCl(2) was found to release less heavy metal than D.W., whereas the metals mobilized by ASW were removed from solution by the filtration of soil leachates. Low molecular weight PAH was most efficiently mobilized by CaCl(2), while D.W. worked better for high molecular weight PAH. Despite very low initial PAH-concentrations, tap- and groundwater criteria were exceeded by all leaching solutions.

Laboratory and pilot scale soil washing of PAH and arsenic from a wood preservation site: changes in concentration and toxicity.

Soil washing of a soil with a mixture of both polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and As was evaluated in laboratory and pilot scale, utilizing both single and mixtures of different additives. The highest level of decontamination was achieved with a combination of 0.213 M of the chelating agent MGDA and 3.2 x CMC* of a non-ionic, alkyl glucoside surfactant at pH 12 (Ca(OH)(2)). This combination managed to reach Swedish threshold values within 1 0 min of treatment when performed at elevated temperature (50 degrees C), with initial contaminant concentrations of As=105+/-4 mg/kg and US-EPA PAH(16)=46.0+/-2.3mg/kg. The main mechanisms behind the removal were the pH effect for As and a combination of SOM ionization as a result of high pH and micellar solubilization for PAHs. Implementation of the laboratory results utilizing a pilot scale equipment did not improve the performance, which may be due to the shorter contact time between the washing solution and the particles, or changes in physical characteristics of the leaching solution due to the elevated pressure utilized. The ecotoxicological evaluation, Microtox, demonstrated that all soil washing treatments increased the toxicity of soil leachates, possibly due to increased availability of contaminants and toxicity of soil washing solutions to the test organism.

Copper(II) binding to dissolved organic matter fractions in municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash leachate.

Information on Cu speciation in municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash leachate is needed for Cu leaching predictions and toxicity estimates. The complexation of Cu with dissolved organic matter (DOM) in leachates from a stored MSWI bottom ash was studied potentiometrically using a Cu-ion selective electrode. More than 95% of the copper was bound to DOM in the hydrophilic fraction of the leachate, indicating that the hydrophilic acids contribute to Cu complex formation. The hydrophilic acids constituted 58% of the dissolved organic carbon in the ash leachate. Comparisons between experimental results and speciation calculations with the NICA-Donnan model and the Stockholm humic model indicated differences between the ash DOM and the natural DOM for which the models have been calibrated. The ratio of carboxylic binding sites to phenolic binding sites was 2 times larger in ash DOM, and the Cu-binding affinity of the former was stronger than accounted for by the generic Cu-binding parameters. The Cu-binding affinity of the phenolic sites, on the other hand, was weaker. When these parameters were adjusted, a good description of the experimental data was obtained.

Oxalate and ferricrocin exudation by the extramatrical mycelium of an ectomycorrhizal fungus in symbiosis with Pinus sylvestris.

Accurate estimates of mycelial exudation in time and space are crucial for the assessment of ectomycorrhizal involvement in biogeochemical processes. Knowledge of exudation from mycelia of ectomycorrhizal fungi is still limited, especially for fungi in symbiosis with a host. Pinus sylvestris seedlings colonized by Hebeloma crustuliniforme were grown in aseptic multicompartment dishes. This novel system enabled identification of exudates originating only from extramatrical mycelium. At harvest, hyphal density and numbers were estimated using microscopic imaging. A fractal geometric approach was adopted for calculation of exudation rates. The main compounds identified were oxalate and ferricrocin. The exudation rate for oxalate was 19 +/- 3 fmol per hyphal tip h(-1) (mean +/- standard error of the mean) or 488 +/- 95 fmol hyphal mm(-2) h(-1). Ferricrocin rates were approx. 10 000 times lower. The fractal dimension (D) of the mycelia was 1.4 +/- 0.1, suggesting an explorative growth. Potassium nutrition was a significant regulatory factor for ferricrocin but not oxalate. The results suggest that hyphal exudation may alter the chemical conditions of soil microsites and affect mineral dissolution. Calculations also indicated that oxalate exudation may be a significant carbon sink.