The effects of hematite nanoparticles on the concentrations of arsenic and some micronutrients of corn plant grown in contaminated soils

Document Type : Complete scientific research article

Authors

Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, University of Zanjan

Abstract

Background and objectives: Arsenic is one of the metalloid which has recently attract attention. Long-term exposure to As can lead to skin, bladder, lung, and prostate cancer. The presence of As in soil and water causes its transfer to the different parts of plants. So far the effects of hematite nanoparticles (α-Fe2O3) on the concentration of As in plants grown in contaminated soils have not been evaluated, therefore this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of hematite nanoparticles on the concentrations of As, P, Fe, Zn and Mn of corn plant growth in contaminated soils.
Materials and Methods For this purpose a factorial experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design and three replications. The experimental factors were the application rates of hematite nanoparticles (0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2%) and levels of soil As (0, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 96 mg/kg). Soil samples artificially contaminated by different levels of As using Na2HAsO4.7H2O salt and incubated for 5 month. Hematite nanoparticles were synthesized from iron nitrate, and their properties were investigated by XRD, SEM and TEM techniques. At the end of incubation time, the hematite nanoparticles were added to the As contaminated and control soils and after 1 month the concentrations of available As in the samples were measured, then planted to corn. After 75 days of sowing, plants were harvested the dry weights of aerial parts and roots, concentrations of As, P, Fe, Zn and Mn of these parts were measured.
Results and Discussion The results showed that the concentration of soil available arsenic and arsenic concentrations of root and aerial parts increased as the concentration of soil total arsenic increased. As accumulated in the roots more than the aerial parts. Contamination of soil by As increased the concentrations of P and Mn and decreased those of Fe and Zn in corn root. The concentrations of P, Fe and Zn in the aerial parts of corn decreased and that of Mn increased as a result of As application. As reduced P translocation from the roots to the aerial parts of corn plants. The application of hematite nanoparticles significantly decreased the concentrations of arsenic in soil and in root and aerial parts of corn. The application of hematite nanoparticles increased the dry weight of root by increasing the root concentrations of Fe and Zn and decreasing the accumulation of As, P and Mn in the plant root. It also increased the dry weight of aerial parts as a result of increased concentrations of P, Fe and Zn and reduced accumulation of As and Mn. Those, but they decreased the concentrations of P, Fe, Zn, Mn and dry weight of root and aerial parts of plants grown in uncontaminated soils. The application rate of 0.2% hematite nanoparticles gave the maximum effect. The reductions in the concentrations of root and aerial parts arsenic at the application rate of 0.2% of the hematite nanoparticles were 54.64 and 40.20 percent respectively for the soils with total As of 96 mg As/kg.
Conclusions As at the concentrations of less than 12 mg/kg increased root and aerial parts growth and dry weights but at the concentrations higher than 12 mg/kg, by creating toxic effects and disrupting the balance of nutrients, reduced the growth and dry weights of root and aerial parts of corn plant. These results suggest that hematite nanoparticles can be use for remediation of arsenic contaminated soils on the condition that further research is carried out on their environmental effects.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Water and Soil Conservation
Volume 25, Issue 1
March and April 2018
Pages 1-34

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