Application of Rice Husk Biochar and Earthworm on Concentration and Speciation of Heavy Metals in Industrial Sludge Treatment

Xingming Wang, Zhaoxia Chu (), Tingyu Fan (), Shuying Liang, Gang Li, Jiamei Zhang and Quan Zhen
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Xingming Wang: State Key Laboratory of Safety and Health for Metal Mines, Sinosteel Maanshan General Institute of Mining Research Company Limited, Maanshan 243000, China
Zhaoxia Chu: Key Laboratory of Bioresource and Environmental Biotechnology of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, School of Biological Engineering, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China
Tingyu Fan: The State Key Laboratory of Mining Response and Disaster Prevention and Control in Deep Coal Mine, School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Shuying Liang: Chuzhou Bureau of Ecology and Environment, Chuzhou 239000, China
Gang Li: State Key Laboratory of Safety and Health for Metal Mines, Sinosteel Maanshan General Institute of Mining Research Company Limited, Maanshan 243000, China
Jiamei Zhang: Institute of Intelligent Machines, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China
Quan Zhen: Department of Preventive Medicine, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu 233033, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-14

Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the total concentration and speciation variation of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn) during composting and vermicomposting of industrial sludge with different addition rations of rice husk biochar. Results indicated that pH, EC, total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK) were increased and total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) were decreased during the composting of industrial sludge with biochar compared with the control (sludge without biochar). The addition of earthworm to the biochar-amended sludge further decreased pH and TOC but highly enhanced the EC, TN, TP and TK. Comparatively lower concentrations of total and DTPA-extractable heavy metals were observed in biochar-amended sludge treatments mixed with earthworm in comparison with the biochar-amended sludge treatments without earthworm or the control. Sequential extraction methods demonstrated that vermicomposting of sludge with biochar converted more metals bound with exchangeable, carbonate and organic matter into the residual fraction in comparison with those composting treatments of sludge with biochar. As a result, the combination of rice husk biochar and earthworm accelerated the passivation of heavy metals in industrial sludge during vermicomposting. Rice husk biochar and earthworm can play a positive role in sequestering the metals during the treatment of industrial sludge. This research proposed a potential method to dispose the heavy metals in industrial sludge to transform waste into resource utilization.

Keywords: rice husk biochar; vermicompost; heavy metals; earthworm; industrial sludge (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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