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Effect of Bamboo Charcoal with Earthworms on the Form and Bioavailability of Heavy Metals in Steel Sludge

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Abstract

It is difficult to utilize steel mill sludge because of the high concentration of heavy metals included therein. To passivate the activity of heavy metals, reduce their toxicity, and create a new valuable product, in this study, 4 kg sludge was composted with a combination of earthworms and different ratios (2%, 4%, and 8%) of bamboo charcoal. The effects of bamboo charcoal and the combination of bamboo charcoal and earthworms on the changes of heavy metals in industrial sludge were examined. The results showed that under the 8% bamboo charcoal ratio, addition of bamboo charcoal alone increased the concentrations of heavy metals, while the addition of bamboo charcoal combined with earthworms reduced it in sludge. The application of bamboo charcoal transformed the available state to iron-manganese bound and residue fraction in the sludge, thus reducing the bioavailability of heavy metals. Addition of bamboo charcoal and earthworms promoted the transformation percentage of heavy metals in exchangeable, carbonate, organic matter, and iron-manganese fractions to the residue fraction in sludge, which further decreased the bioavailability of heavy metals. Vermicomposting with 8% bamboo charcoal achieved maximal heavy metal passivation. Correlation and redundancy analyses showed that composting with a combination of bamboo charcoal and earthworms mainly altered the total phosphorus content, which affected the bioavailability of heavy metals. Addition of earthworms and bamboo charcoal to sludge significantly reduced the total contents of heavy metals and their bioavailability, promoted the conversion of heavy metals to the residue fraction, and improved sludge availability.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support from Scientific and Technological Research and Development Project of Huaibei Mining Group in 2022 and the support from AnhuiKaiyuan Landsca** Engineering Co., Ltd.

Funding

The authors are grateful for the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (51878004; 51978001; 42102204; 32001159) and National Key Research and Development Program (2019YFC1803501; 2020YFC1908601). This work was also supported by the Key research and development Program of Anhui Province (202104a06020027). We would also like to thank the Key support program for Excellent Talents in Universities of Anhui Province (gxyqZD2021129), Ahui Natural Science Foundation, the Opening Foundation of Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Water and Soil Resources Comprehensive Utilization and Ecological Protection in High Groundwater Mining Area (No.: 2022-WSREPMA-04), 2023 Provincial New Era Education Quality Project (Graduate Education) (Environmental ecology teaching case base) and 2022 provincial quality project (Offline Courses: Water treatment biology).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anhui Province Engineering Laboratory of Water and Soil Resources Comprehensive Utilization and Ecological Protection in High Groundwater Mining Area, School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, 232001, Anhui, China

    ** Engineering Co., LTD, Hefei, 230031, China

    Ruilai Deng

  2. School of Biology and Food Engineering, Hefei Normal University, Hefei, 230031, China

    Zhangjun Shen

Authors
  1. **ngming Wang
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  2. Lan Xu
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  3. Zhaoxia Chu
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  4. Yingying Zhao
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  5. Peng Dong
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  6. Ruilai Deng
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  7. Zhangjun Shen
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Contributions

Fieldwork and research design: X.W.; data analysis: Y.Z.; methodology: Z.C.; manuscript review: P.D.; formal analysis: L.X.; writing—original draft: X.W. and L.X.; writing—review and editing: Z.S. and R.D.; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to **ngming Wang.

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Wang, X., Xu, L., Chu, Z. et al. Effect of Bamboo Charcoal with Earthworms on the Form and Bioavailability of Heavy Metals in Steel Sludge. Water Air Soil Pollut 235, 507 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-07315-x

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