Summary
This laboratory study characterised three agro-industrial crop residues—cassava peel, groundnut husk, and plantain peel—to assess their remediation potential for contaminated soils. Plantain peel demonstrated the highest specific surface area (440.49 m²/g) for contaminant adsorption, whilst groundnut husk showed the largest pore volume (1.70 cm³/g) to support microbial activity. All three residues contained surface oxygen functional groups capable of immobilising heavy metals, contained nutrients beneficial to soil fertility, and posed no additional contamination risk, suggesting their viability as sustainable soil amendments for bioremediation applications.
Regional applicability
The study does not specify a geographic location, limiting direct applicability assessment. However, the crop residues studied (cassava, groundnut, plantain) are prominent in West African agriculture and less common in commercial farming systems in the United Kingdom; transferability would depend on sourcing these residues or identifying locally abundant alternatives with similar chemical properties.
Key measures
pH, bulk density, electrical conductivity, specific surface area (BET), pore volume, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) morphology, surface functional groups (FTIR), elemental composition (carbon, oxygen, calcium, iron, nitrogen, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus), heavy metal content
Outcomes reported
The study characterised the physicochemical, textural, and elemental properties of three crop residues (cassava peel, groundnut husk, plantain peel) and evaluated their potential for remediating contaminated soils through adsorption and bioremediation mechanisms.
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