Effect of humic acid derived from leonardite on the redistribution of uranium fractions in soil

PeerJ

article

Fande Meng¹  Qiuxiang Huang¹  Yongbing Cai¹  Guodong Yuan³  Liang Xiao³  Fengxiang X. Han² 

[1] College of Resource and Environment, Anhui Science and Technology University, Chuzhou, Anhui Province;Department of Chemistry, Physics and Atmospheric Sciences, Jackson State University;Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Health and Land Resource, Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province

关键词: Humic acid;    Soil pH;    Redistribution;    Dynamic behavior;    Uranium fraction;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.14162

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Humic acids (HAs) are complex organic substances with abundant functional groups (e.g., carboxyl, phenolic-OH, etc.). They are commonly distributed in the soil environment and exert a double-edged sword effect in controlling the migration and transformation of uranium. However, the effects of HAs on dynamic processes associated with uranium transformation are still unclear. In this study, we used HAs derived from leonardite (L-HA) and commercial HA (C-HA) as exogenous organic matter and C-HA as the reference. UO2, UO3, and UO2(NO3)2 were used as the sources of U to explore the fractionations of uranium in the soil. We also studied the behavior of the HA. The incubation experiments were designed to investigate the effects of HA on the soil pH, uranium fraction transformation, dynamic behavior of exchangeable, weak acid, and labile uranium. The observations were made for one month. The results showed that soil pH decreased for L-HA but increased for C-HA. Under these conditions, uranium tended to transform into an inactive fraction. The dynamic behavior of exchangeable, weak acid, and labile uranium varied with the sources of HA and uranium. This study highlighted that HA could affect soil pH and the dynamic redistribution of U fractions. The results suggest that the sources of HA and U should be considered when using HA as the remediation material for uranium-contaminated soils.

【 授权许可】

CC BY