Removal of phyto-accessible copper from contaminated soils using zero valent iron amendment and magnetic separation methods: Assessment of residual toxicity using plant and MetPLATE™ studies.

Zero valent iron (ZVI) has been widely tested and used in remediation of both contaminated soils and groundwater, and in general, the in situ amendment of the contaminated media is used as remediation approach. However, concerns remain as to the potential detrimental effects of both the immobilized ZVI and the adsorbed pollutants as the treated system could undergo transformations over time. Accordingly, plans for soil remediation by in situ immobilization of sorbents should include a long-term monitoring of the treated systems. Here, we report on a comparative study in which artificially Cu-contaminated sandy and organic soils characterized by different metal binding capacities were treated by either (i) in situ immobilization of ZVI in the soils, or (ii) by a ZVI amendment followed by magnetic retrieval of formed ZVI-Cu complexes prior to plant growth studies. The latter relies on the combination of the high metal adsorption capacity and magnetism of ZVI. Two plant species, Lactuca sativa (lettuce) and Brassica juncea (Indian mustard) were used to assess the efficiency of the two treatment methods in eliminating the bioavailable fraction of Cu. Overall, the results showed that, if soil remediation by in situ immobilization reduces the bio-accessible fraction of Cu, treatment using ZVI amendment followed by magnetic separation performs better. The latter resulted in less Cu accumulated in the shoots and roots of plants. In parallel to the plant growth study, we used MetPLATE™, a short-term bioassay based on the inhibition of the β-galactosidase enzyme by the bioavailable fraction of heavy metal cations, to predict the efficiency of the two treatment methods with regard to the elimination of Cu phyto-toxicity. The results of the bioassay confirmed the trends of phyto-toxicity results, suggesting that MetPLATE™ could be an adequate alternative to the more expensive, labor intensive, and time consuming plant growth studies.