Title: Influence of phosphate and citric acid on the phytoextraction of As from contaminated soils

Authors: Ji-hyun Kwak; Kihong Park; Pei-chun Chang; Wenju Liu; Ju-Yong Kim; Kyoung-Woong Kim

Addresses: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 500-172, Korea ' School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 500-172, Korea ' Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada ' College of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding, 071001, China ' School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju, 500-172, Korea ' School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju, 500-172, Korea

Abstract: The influence of phytoextraction in arsenic (As) contaminated soil on the phosphate and citric acid addition were investigated using Pteris vittata L. (Chinese brake fern). The As uptake in the fronds increased 85% in As-spiked soil when phosphate was added. The addition of citric acid for 2 weeks to the phosphate added soils resulted in the highest As uptake by 75% compared to only phosphate treatment. The Zn concentrations in fronds also increased 31-fold in phosphate added soils and 60-fold in 2-week citric acid added soils without phosphate treatment. The extractable arsenic species in the fern fronds are 71% of As (III) and 29% of As (V), respectively.

Keywords: phytoextraction; arsenic; Pteris vittata L.; phosphate addition; citric acid treatment; soil contamination; environmental pollution; Chinese brake fern; fern fronds; zinc.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2013.050517

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2013 Vol.11 No.1, pp.1 - 12

Accepted: 27 Jan 2011
Published online: 20 Sep 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article