Growth and metal uptake of energy sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) in different metal mine tailings with soil amendments

Abstract

a b s t r a c tA pot experiment was conducted to investigate the feasibility of growing energy sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) in three different metal mine tailings (Cu, Sn and Pb/Zn tailings) amended with uncontaminated soil at different mixing ratios. The results indicated that sugarcane was highly tolerant to tailing environments. Amendments of 20% soil to Sn tailings and 30% soil to Cu tailings could increase the biomass of cane-stem for use as the raw material for bioethanol production. Heavy metals were mostly retained in roots, which indicated that sugarcane was useful for the stabilization of the tailings. Bagasse and juice, as the most valuable parts to produce bioethanol, only accounted for 0.6%-3% and 0.6%-7% of the total metal content. Our study supported the potential use of sugarcane for tailing phytostabilization and bioenergy production.

Phytostabilization of Pb-Zn Mine Tailings with Amorpha fruticosa Aided by Organic Amendments and Triple Superphosphate

“…Besides, biochar application at higher rates may promote metal immobilization, but may also result in harmful effects like reduction in micronutrients, decrease in CEC, excessive increase in EC and development of some phytotoxic symptoms that may eventually hinder biomass yield [57]. However, the addition of AFS to mine tailings had no significant effect on shoot and root dry biomass and this result are in line with Zhang et al [16].…”

“…Biochar is a product of organic material pyrolysis that has emerged as one of the most promising additives to remediate degraded soils due to its HM adsorption capacity, high levels of recalcitrant organic carbon and also the ability to alter soil microbial abundance [15]. Incorporation of topsoil from an unmined site onto mine tailings is a commonly practiced technique for reducing the concentrations of HMs [16]. On the other hand, among inorganic amendments, the use of phosphate fertilizers has been shown to be potentially efficient as an in situ remediation technique for metal-contaminated mine wastes [10,17].…”

“…Several researchers have studied the effect of different types of amendments in assisted phytostabilization of tailings [7,11,12,16,32,33]. Here, we evaluated the effects of some organic amendments such as cattle manure compost (CMC), spent mushroom compost (SMC), sewage sludge (SS), wood biochar (WB) and agricultural field soil (AFS), each combined with triple superphosphate (TSP, P/Pb molar ratio 4:1) on the immobilization and bioavailability of HMs (Pb, Zn Cd and Cu) in Pb-Zn mine tailings.…”

Hydroponic Phytoremediation of Ni, Co, and Pb by Iris Sibirica L.

“…According to Orlowska, Przybylowicz [29], the most Ni accumulated in cortical cells near the endodermis of roots; the cortex acts as a barrier for the movement of HMs between the roots and shoots. The barrier also explains the good tolerance of plants to high concentrations of non-essential metal ions [30]. However, the Pb and Co contents in the roots are much higher than those in the stems or leaves, probably because of the limited transport of HMs from the roots to above-ground parts.…”

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“…Owing to its high production of biomass, high water use efficiency, broad environmental adaptability, small energy input and good ratooning ability, sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) is a potential phytoremediator that could both accumulate metal iron and survive under high copper or cadmium concentration, thus supporting the potential use for improving the polluted areas (Sereno et al 2007;Zhang et al 2014). Moreover, other two, the increasing demand for bioenergy production and not consumed immediately by human, further facilitates its use as a remedy to metal pollution remedy (Gentile et al 2013;Puschenreiter et al 2005;Zhang et al 2014).…”