Identifying the fate of Cd passivation during the long-term composting of rice straw: role of humic substances

Purpose Co-composting with agriculture waste and sediment is an effective method to passivate the heavy metal content of sediment, but it is still unclear whether this passivation will be effective in the long term, and the contribution of different components of humic substances (HS) to the passivation of heavy metals has not been investigated quantitatively. Methods A 256-day composting experiment was conducted in 165 L reactors. Sediment, vegetables, rice straw, and bran were used as raw materials. Two experiments were set up, with pile A as control and pile B inoculated with Phanerochaete chrysosporium . Results The results revealed that the residual fraction of Cd (Res-Cd) increased by 24.22% and 27.04% in pile A and pile B, respectively. During the first 60 days of composting, the contents of humic acids-bound Cd (HA-Cd) both increased in two piles and accounted for 16.54% and 17.69% of the total content of Cd (T-Cd) in pile A and pile B, respectively. The correlation analysis suggested that the Res-Cd exhibited a significantly positive correlation with humic acid (HA) ( P < 0.01) and HA-Cd, but a negative correlation with fulvic acid (FA) in both piles. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that the inoculation could enhance the chelating capability of HA to Cd and improve the maturity of compost. Conclusions This study has demonstrated that composting had a persistent passivation on Cd for 256 days. The contribution of HS to Cd passivation largely depends on the amount of HA-Cd rather than FA-Cd. Moreover, the inoculation of Phanerochaete chrysosporium could enhance the binding ability of HA to Cd and improve the maturity of compost.