Immobilization of soil mercury by colloidal sulphur in the laboratory experiment

Abstract

The results of the laboratory pot experiments on soil mercury (Hg) immobilisation with a non-toxic and price-reasonable agent - colloidal sulphur (S) water suspension, are presented. It was shown that fertilisation with small agrochemical doses of colloidal S reduces excess Hg effectively as follows: in interstitial waters by a factor 2 - 12 times for total Hg, and 22- 680 times for "reactive" Hg; in stems and leaves of oats - 7 - 22 times; and in moss bags, reflecting soil Hg degassing, 7 - 15 times, for the most heavily Hg-spiked soils. The results obtained allowed to conclude that the immobilization of Hg occurs through Hg binding to the newly formed S-bearing functional groups in humic acids and/or sulphides. © Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.