Summary
This study assessed the remediation potential of biochar, municipal solid waste compost, and their mixture for soils contaminated with arsenic and antimony. The mixed treatment (biochar-compost), particularly at 10% application rate, demonstrated the most promising results for both chemical and biological soil recovery, markedly elevating dehydrogenase enzyme activity whilst altering bacterial community structure. The compost-only and mixed treatments substantially outperformed biochar alone, which showed negligible microbial impacts.
UK applicability
These findings may be relevant to UK soil remediation practice where legacy arsenic and antimony contamination occurs, particularly around former industrial and mining sites. However, the applicability depends on confirmation of the study's geographical context and whether temperature, precipitation, and soil type conditions align with UK conditions.
Key measures
Soil dehydrogenase activity, Biolog community level physiological profiles, partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing, bacterial α-diversity, catabolic activity, bacterial community composition
Outcomes reported
The study evaluated the effectiveness of biochar (BC), municipal solid waste compost (MSWC), and their mixture (MIX) in remediating soils contaminated with arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb). It measured soil enzyme activity, bacterial community composition, and catabolic function using microbial profiling and 16S rRNA sequencing.
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