Soil matrix

Can plants extract the contaminant from the soil matrix ... 

Persistence of pesticides in the environment is controlled by retention, degradation, and transport processes and their interaction. Retention refers to the abihty of the soil to bind a pesticide, preventing its movement either within or outside of the soil matrix. Retention primarily refers to the sorption process, but also includes absorption into the soil matrix and soil organisms, both plants and microorganisms. In contrast to degradation that decreases the absolute amount of the pesticide in the environment, sorption processes do not affect the total amount of pesticide present in the soil but can decrease the amount available for transformation or transport. 

In Situ Bioremediation. In situ bioremediation can be an aerobic or anaerobic process, or a combination of the two. In designing an in situ bioremediation system, one should consider the types of microorganisms available (naturally in place or added), the stmctural and chemical makeup of the soil matrix, types of contaminants, oxygen and nutrient addition and distribution, and temperature. These factors are discussed prior to introducing the individual techniques for in situ bioremediation. 

Sandy Soils. The particles in sandy soils are relatively large, with correspondingly large spaces between them. Because these soils are also fairly homogeneous, water moves freely through much of the soil matrix. Any nitrate that is in the soil, whether from fertilizer or from microbial activity, is likely to be carried through the soil slowly but surely with little impediment. A sandy soil above an aquifer is usually seen as a threat to the quality of the water in the aquifer. 

Analysis of soils and sediments is typically performed with aqueous extraction followed by headspace analysis or the purge-and-trap methods described above. Comparison of these two methods has found them equally suited for on-site analysis of soils (Hewitt et al. 1992). The major limitation of headspace analysis has been incomplete desorption of trichloroethylene from the soil matrix, although this was shown to be alleviated by methanol extraction (Pavlostathis and Mathavan 1992). 

Extraction of rhizosphere soil (22,34,51,52) is an approach that can provide information about long-term accumulation of rhizosphere products (root exudates and microbial metabolites) in the soil. Culture systems, which separate root compartments from adjacent bulk soil compartments by steel or nylon nets (52-54) have been employed to study radial gradients of rhizosphere products in the root environment. The use of different extraction media can account for different adsorption characteristics of rhizosphere products to the soil matrix (22,34). However, even extraction with distilled water for extended periods (>10 min) may... 

Although in many. soils with tow P availability, significant desorption of sparingly soluble Pi forms requires at least millimolar concentration levels of specific carboxylates (e.g., citrate, oxalate) in the soil solution, much lower concentrations (0.1 mM) were necessary to reduce. soil adsorption of Pi, which was applied simultaneously with carboxylates (100). Thus, competition of carboxylates with Pi for P sorption sites in the soil matrix may be a mechanism that can. 

Soil type and structure also influence the dynamics of rhizosphere microbial populations. Whether nutrients are available for bacteria in the rhizosphere often depends on the sites in the soil where nutrients are present. Organic compounds tightly bound to the soil matrix are often less available for bacteria (226), and those present in smaller pore spaces can be physically protected against mineralization. However, disturbance of the soil often cau.ses these nutrients to become more available to soil microbes (227). 

S0rensen et al. (44) hypothesized that finer plant residues (i.e., upon grinding) may have better contact between substrate and decomposer organisms within the soil matrix and would decompose less extensively than coarser (i.e., intact. 

This technique is used mainly for nonpolar compounds. Typically a small aliquot of soil (10-30 g) is dried by mixing with sodium sulfate prior to extraction. Next, the sample is extracted with a solvent for 10-20 min using a sonicator probe. The choice of solvent depends on the polarity of the parent compound. The ultrasonic power supply converts a 50/60-Hz voltage to high-frequency 20-kHz electric energy that is ultimately converted into mechanical vibrations. The vibrations are intensified by a sonic horn (probe) and thereby disrupt the soil matrix. The residues are released from soil and dissolved in the solvent. 

Depth (cm) Soil matrix potential, 0.03 MPa (field capacity) Soil matrix potential, 1.5 MPa (permanent wilting point) ... 

Physical processes. These separate contaminants from the soil matrix by exploiting physical differences between the soil and the contaminants (e.g., volatility) or between contaminated and uncontaminated soil particles. 

Soil vapor extraction (SVE) is a relatively new yet widely applied technology for the remediation of soils contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the unsaturated zone above the water table (vadose zone). The process consists of generating an airstream through the contaminated soil subsurface in order to enhance the volatilization of organic contaminants and thus remove them from the soil matrix.913... 

When a single organic compound is present in the soil matrix as NAPL, its concentration in soil air (Ca) can be directly calculated from the vapor pressure of this compound (P°) and the Ideal Gas Law ... 

Biological activity can be used in two ways for the bioremediation of metal-contaminated soils to immobilize the contaminants in situ or to remove them permanently from the soil matrix, depending on the properties of the reduced elements. Chromium and uranium are typical candidates for in situ immobilization processes. The bioreduction of Cr(VI) and Ur(VI) transforms highly soluble ions such as CrO and UO + to insoluble solid compounds, such as Cr(OH)3 and U02. The selenate anions SeO are also reduced to insoluble elemental selenium Se°. Bioprecipitation of heavy metals, such as Pb, Cd, and Zn, in the form of sulfides, is another in situ immobilization option that exploits the metabolic activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria without altering the valence state of metals. The removal of contaminants from the soil matrix is the most appropriate remediation strategy when bioreduction results in species that are more soluble compared to the initial oxidized element. This is the case for As(V) and Pu(IV), which are transformed to the more soluble As(III) and Pu(III) forms. This treatment option presupposes an installation for the efficient recovery and treatment of the aqueous phase containing the solubilized contaminants. 

In practice, evaluating the wettability of a soil is far more uncertain, because soil is a mixture of gravel, sand, silt, and clay particles, as well as other chemical precipitates. The mineral components of soil particles include quartz, feldspar, carbonates, and clay. These components have different wettability by water and oil. Therefore, the retention of oil or water in a soil matrix is heterogeneous and variable. The general wettability of soil or liquid retention in a soil is reported on a statistical basis. 

There are many components of gasoline that readily dissolve in water and are transported as solutes in the groundwater. Most gasoline products are volatile and can release gas into the soil void in gaseous form, particularly in the unsaturated zone. Besides these three forms, gasoline components can be adsorbed by the soil matrix and exist in the soil as adsorbates. 

For effective volatilization using an enclosed mechanical aeration system, contaminated soil is mixed in a pug mill or rotary drum. The gasoline components are released from the soil matrix by the churning action of the air/soil contact. The induced airflow within the chamber captures the gasoline emissions and passes them through an air pollution control device (e.g., a water scrubber or vapor-phase carbon adsorption system) before they are discharged through a properly sized stack. 

At this point it is important to note that the flow model (a hydrologic cycle model) can be absent from the overall model. In this case the user has to input to the solute module [i.e., equation (1)] the temporal (t) and spatial (x,y,z) resolution of both the flow (i.e., soil moisture) velocity (v) and the soil moisture content (0) of the soil matrix. This approach is employed by Enfield et al. (12) and other researchers. If the flow (moisture) module is not absent from the model formulation (e.g., 14). then the users are concerned with input parameters, that may be frequently difficult to obtain. The approach to be undertaken depends on site specificity and available monitoring data. 

Compartmental soil modeling is a new concept and can apply to both modules. For the solute fate module, for example, it consists of the application of the law of pollutant mass conservation to a representative user specified soil element. The mass conservation principle is applied over a specific time step, either to the entire soil matrix or to the subelements of the matrix such as the soil-solids, the soil-moisture and the soil-air. These phases can be assumed in equilibrium at all times thus once the concentration in one phase is known, the concentration in the other phases can be calculated. Single or multiple soil compartments can be considered whereas phases and subcompartments can be interrelated (Figure 2) with transport, transformation and interactive equations. 

Figure 2. Schematic of phases in soil matrix. (Reproduced with permission from Ref. 5.)...

The total concentration of a chemical in a soil matrix can be calculated from the concentration of the pollutant in each phase and the related volume of each phase by ... 

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