Modeling Phytoremediation of Soils
Publication: Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 8, Issue 4
Abstract
A numerical model that determines the uptake of cadmium by plants grown to remediate contaminated soils is developed in this study. The numerical model is first applied to the problem of copper uptake from contaminated soils by poplar trees and the simulated results are then validated against published field data. In the numerical model, the one-dimensional Richards equation with a root extraction term coupled with the solute transport equation yields a set of partial differential equations that are solved numerically by a finite element technique. The cadmium uptake is assumed to follow Michaelis–Menton (Monod) kinetics. The nonlinear equations are solved using the Gauss elimination method to determine the temporal and spatial changes in moisture content and heavy metal concentration within the soil profile. The total amount of metal uptake by the plant roots is also computed. A comparison of simulated and field results of copper uptake by poplar trees shows that the model matches very well with the field data. The numerical model developed in this study can be thus used to predict the uptake of metals from soils using appropriate water extraction and the solute uptake functions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Aitchison, E. W., Kelley, S. L., and Schnoor, J. L. (2000). “Phytoremediation of 1,4-dioxane by hybrid Poplar trees.” Water Environ. Res., 72, 313–321.
2.
Blaylock, M., Salt, D. E., and Raskin, I. (1997). “Enhanced accumulation of Pb in Indian Mustard by soil applied chelating agents.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 31, 860–865.
3.
Borg, H., and Grimes, D. W. (1986). “Depth development of roots with time—An empirical description.” Trans. ASAE, 29(1), 194–197.
4.
Bowen, H.J. M. (1979). Environmental chemistry of the elements, Academic, London.
5.
Brooks, R.R. (1998). “General introduction.” Plants that hyperaccumulate heavy metals, R. R. Brooks, ed., CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, U.K.,1–14.
6.
Cabrera, D., Young, S. D., and Rowell, D. L. (1988). “The toxicity of cadmium to barley plants as affected by complex formation with humic acid.” Plant Soil, 105, 195–204.
7.
Cataldo, D. A., Garland, T. R., and Wildung, R. E. (1983). “Cadmium uptake kinetics in intact soybean plants.” Plant Physiol., 73, 844–848.
8.
Chappell, J. (1997). “Phytoremediation of TCE using populus.” Status Rep. Prepared for the US EPA Technology Innovation Office under National Network of Environmental Management Studies Fellowship.
9.
Christensen, T. H. (1985). “Cadmium soil sorption at low concentration, III. Prediction and observation of mobility.” Water, Air, Soil Pollut., 26, 255–264.
10.
Christensen, T.H. (1989). “Cadmium soil sorption at low concentrations.” Polyteknisk Forlag, Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
11.
Cilia, M. A., Bouloutas, E. T., and Zarba, R. L. (1990). “A general mass-conservative numerical solution for unsaturated flow equation.” Water Resour. Res., 26(7), 1483–1496.
12.
Classen, N., Syring, K. M., and Jungk, A. (1986). “Verification of a mathematical model by simulating potassium uptake from soil.” Plant Soil, 95, 209–220.
13.
Cunningham, S. D., Anderson, T. A., Schwab, A. P., and Hsu, F. C. (1996). “Phytoremediation of soils contaminated with organic pollutants.” Adv. Agronomy, 56, 55–114.
14.
De Laat, P. J. M. (1985). “MUST, a simulation model for unsaturated flow.” Rep. Ser. No. 16, Institute of Hydraulic Engineering, Delft, The Netherlands.
15.
Erie, L. J., French, O. F., and Harries, K. (1965). “Consumptive use of water by crops in Arizona.” Tech. Bull. 169, Agricultural Experimental Station, Univ. Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
16.
Fasset, D.W. (1980). Metals in the environment, H. A. Waldron, ed., Academic, London, 61–110.
17.
Feddes, R. A., Kowalik, P., Kolinska-Malinka, K., and Zaradny, H. (1976) “Simulation of field water uptake by plants using a soil water dependent root extraction function.” J. Hydrol., 31, 13–26.
18.
Gerwitz, A., and Page, E. R. (1974). “An empirical mathematical model to describe plant root system.” J. Appl. Ecol., 11(5), 773–781.
19.
Harmsen, K. (1977). “Behaviour of heavy metals in soils.” Agricultural Research Rep. No. 866, Center for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
20.
Hillel, D., and Talpaz, H. (1976). “Simulation of root growth and its effect on the pattern of soil water uptake by a non uniform system.” Soil Sci., 121, 307–312.
21.
Hillel, D., Talpaz, H., and Van Keulen (1976). “A macroscopic scale model of water uptake by a nonuniform root system and of water and salt movement in the soil profile.” Soil Sci., 121, 242–255.
22.
Hoogland, J. C., Feddes, R. A., and Belhams, C. (1981). “Root water uptake model depending on soil water pressure head and maximum extraction rate.” Acta Hort., 119, 123–131.
23.
Ibekwe, A. M., Angel, J. S., Chaney, R. L., and Berkum, P. (1996). “Zinc and cadmium toxicity to Alfalfa and Its microsymbiont.” J. Environ. Qual., 25, 1032–1040.
24.
Jarvis, S. C., Jones, L. H. P., and Hopper, M. J. (1976). “Cadmium uptake from solution by plants and its transport from roots to shoots.” Plant Soil, 44, 179–191.
25.
Jorgensen, S.E. (1988). “Modeling the contamination of agricultural products by lead and cadmium.” Advances in environmental modeling, A. Marani, ed., 343–350.
26.
King, I.G., and Hanks, R.J. (1973). “Irrigation management for control of quality of irrigation return flow.” Environmental Protection Technology Series, EPA-R2-(73-265), US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
27.
Kirkham, M.B. (1977) “Trace elements on sludge on land: Effect on plants, soils, and groundwater.” Land as a waste management alternative, R. C. Loehr, ed., Ann Arbor Science, Ann Arbor, Mich., 209–247.
28.
Kirkham, M.B. (1999) “Trace elements.” The encyclopedia of soil science and technology, C. W. Finkl Jr., ed., Chapman and Hall, London.
29.
Kuo, S. (1990). “Cadmium buffering capacity and accumulation in Swiss chard in some sludge-amended soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 54, 86–91.
30.
Logan, T., and Chaney, R.L. (1983). “Utilization of municipal waste water and sludge on land-metals.” Utilization of municipal wastewater and sludge on land, A. L. Page et al., ed., University of California Press, Riverside, Calif., 235–323.
31.
Ma, L.Q., Tu, C., Kennelley, E.D., and Komar, K.M. (2000). “Phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated soils and wastes.” Proc., Annual Meetings Abstracts, American Society of Agronomy, Minneapolis.
32.
McBride, M., Sauve, S., and Hendershot, W. (1997) “Solubility control of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in contaminated soils.” Eur. J. Soil. Sci., 48, 337–346.
33.
Mullins, G. L., Sommers, L. E., and Barber, S. A. (1986). “Modeling the plant uptake of cadmium and zinc from soils treated with sewage sludge.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 50, 1245–1250.
34.
Nye, P.H., and Tinker, P.B. (1977). Solute movement in the soil–root system. University of California Press, Berkeley, Calif.
35.
Rama Prasad. (1988). “A linear root water uptake model.” J. Hydrol., 99, 297–306.
36.
Rao, S., and Mathur, S. (1994). “Modeling heavy metal (Cadmium) uptake by soil-plant root system.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 120(1), 89–96.
37.
Sommers, L.E. (1980). “Toxic metals in agricultural crops.” Sludge-health risks of land application, G. Bitton et al., ed., Ann Arbor Science, Ann Arbor, Mich., 105–140.
38.
Thompson, P. L., Ramer, L. A., Schnoor, J. L. (1998). “Uptake and transformation of TNT by hybrid poplar trees.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 32, 975–980.
39.
Tiller, K. G., Nayyar, V. K. and Clayton, P. M. (1979). “Specific and non-specific sorption of cadmium by soil clays as influenced by zinc and calcium.” Austral. J. Soil Res., 17, 17–28.
40.
Tracy, J. C., and Marino, M. A. (1989). “Management model for control of on-farm irrigation.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 115(6), 954–972.
41.
Tyagi, R.D., and Couillard, D. (1989). “Bacterial leaching of metals from sludge.” Waste water treatment technology, Academic, London.
42.
Van Genuchten, M. Th. (1980). “A closed form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44, 892–898.
43.
Vogeler, I., Green, S.R., Clothier, B.E., Kirkham, M.B., and Robinson, B.H. (2000). “Contaminant transport in the root zone.” Trace elements in soil: Bioavailability, fluxes and transfer of trace elements in soils and soil components, I. K. Iskander and M. B. Kirkham, eds., Chemical Rubber Corp., Boca Raton, Fla.
44.
Vogeler, I., Green, S.R., Scotter, D.R., and Clothier, B.E. (1999) “Measuring and Modelling the transport and root uptake of chemicals in the unsaturated zone.” Plant Soil, in press.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 8 • Issue 4 • October 2004
Pages: 286 - 297
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 ASCE.
History
Published online: Oct 1, 2004
Published in print: Oct 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.