Co-application of biochar and titanium dioxide nanoparticles to promote remediation of antimony from soil by Sorghum bicolor: metal uptake and plant response

Abstract

Association of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) and biochar (BC) to assist phytoremediation of Sb contaminated soil was investigated in this study. Seedlings of Sorghum bicolor were exposed to different regimes of TiO 2 NPs (0, 100, 250 and 500 mg kg −1 ) and BC (0, 2.5% and 5%), separately and in combination, to investigate the effects on plant growth, Sb absorption and accumulation and physiological response of the plant in Sb contaminated soil. Co-application of TiO 2 NPs and BC had positive effects on plant establishment and growth in contaminated soil. Greater accumulation of Sb in the shoots compared to the roots of S. bicolor was observed in all treatments. Application of BC increased immobilization of Sb in the soil. Using TiO 2 NPs significantly increased accumulation capacity of S. bicolor for Sb with the greatest accumulation capacity of 1624.1 μg per pot achieved in “250 mg kg −1 TiO 2 NPs+2.5% BC” treatment (P < 0.05). Association of TiO 2 NPs and BC significantly increased chlorophyll a (Chl a ) and chlorophyll b (Chl b ) contents of S. bicolor compared to the TiO 2 NPs-amended treatments. Results of this study presented a promising novel technique by combined application of TiO 2 NPs and BC in phytoremediation of Sb contaminated soils. Co-application of TiO 2 NPs and BC could reduce the required amounts of TiO 2 NPs for successful phytoremediation of heavy metal polluted soils. Intelligent uses of plants in accompany with biochar and nanomaterials have great application prospects in dealing with soil remediation.

Biochar and Eisenia fetida (Savigny) promote sorghum growth and the immobilization of potentially toxic elements in contaminated soils

“…3). Similar findings were reported by Zand et al (2020), i.e. significant increases in sorghum biomass were observed in a Sb-contaminated soil with increasing biochar rates (e.g., 0, 2.5 and 5%).…”

“…Also, Ningyu et al (2016) reported a high PTE absorption efficiency of S. vulgare and showed that Pb, Cd and Zn were particularly accumulated in the roots. Finally, Zand et al (2020) detected high Sb accumulation in the aboveground parts of S. vulgare, supporting its use for Sb phytoextraction in contaminated soils. All this experimental evidence suggests that sorghum plants have promising phytostabilisation and/or phytoextraction potentials which overall depend on soil physico-chemical properties, PTE type, and concentration.…”

“…When biochar and S. vulgare were tested together, increased plant yields were observed in soils amended with 5, 10, 15 and 20 t ha −1 biochar (compared to unamended soil), accompanied by a reduction of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in sorghum plants (Oziegbe et al, 2019). Zand et al (2020) also observed a reduction of Sb accumulation in roots and shoots of S. vulgare grown in a soil amended with a wood biochar (at a rate of 2.5 -5%).…”

Co-Application of 24-Epibrassinolide and Titanium Oxide Nanoparticles Promotes Pleioblastus pygmaeus Plant Tolerance to Cu and Cd Toxicity by Increasing Antioxidant Activity and Photosynthetic Capacity and Reducing Heavy Metal Accumulation and Translocation

“…However, low mobility in the soil may impact its absorption by plants [72]. Our results showed that the root accumulation of TiO 2 NPs was higher than that of stems and shoots, indicating that bamboo roots prefer to be storage organs of titanium, which has been reported in another study [73]. Therefore, the accumulation of titanium NPs led to the adsorption of heavy metals in roots, which, as a physical barrier, reduces metal translocation from roots to shoots.…”

Assessment of TiO2 Nanoparticles on Maize Seedlings and Terrestrial Isopods Under Greenhouse Conditions

“…According to those authors, the reason is that the absorption of NPs by roots is influenced by factors such as size, surface load, shape, exposure time of NPs, evaluated plant species, root conditions, and rhizosphere processes (Lv et al 2019;Singh and Kumar 2020). Studies reported by Daryabeigi Zand et al (2020) demonstrated that concentrations of 500 mg TiO 2 NPs kg −1 of dry soil affected the height and size of roots of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench in soil with a pH of 7.7. According to the authors, due to photocatalytic activities, TiO NPs can induce adverse effects on plants and can be related to the damage caused to the microbial community of the rhizosphere.…”