Method to evaluate plants and soils to optimize conditions for phytoremediation

摘要

Phytoremediation is an economical method to remove contaminants from soils. Understanding the mechanisms that control adsorption of a contaminant to a soil particle is the first step in designing a phytoremediation project in order to optimize removal of said contaminant. To characterize soil conditions, the following data were collected: a) historical land use information, b) evaluating on-site soils and plants for contaminant identity and concentrations, c) particle size analysis of soil samples, d) estimate total organic matter of soil samples, e) conducting batch adsorption experiments to determine Kd values, varying pH levels and concentrations of standard solutions, g) testing on-site pH of soils, h) testing pH levels of standard solutions prior to and after contact with soils used for batch adsorption experiments, i) conducting alkalinity/hardness tests. Once the conditions are known, experiments can be designed manipulating conditions to find optimal conditions to maximize the removal of a contaminant.