Comparison of heavy metal immobilization in contaminated soils amended with peat moss and peat moss-derived biochar

There have been contradictory viewpoints whether soil amendments immobilize or mobilize heavy metals. Therefore, this study evaluated the mobility and bioavailability of Pb, Cu, and Cd in contaminated soil (1218 mg Pb per kg, 63.2 mg Cu per kg, 2.8 mg Cd per kg) amended with peat moss (0.22, 0.43, and 1.29% carbon ratio) and peat moss-derived biochar (0.38, 0.75, and 2.26% carbon ratio) at 0.5, 1, 3% levels. The more peat moss added, the stronger both mobility and bioavailability of Pb, Cu, and Cd would be. In contrast, the addition of peat moss-derived biochar significantly reduced both mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals through the coordination of metal electrons to C=C (pi-electron) bonds and increased pH. Maximum immobilization was observed in 3% peat moss-derived biochar treatment after 10 days of incubation, which was measured at 97.8%, 100%, and 77.2% for Pb, Cu, and Cd, respectively. Since peat moss and peat moss-derived biochar showed conflicting effectiveness in mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals, soil amendments should be carefully applied to soils for remediation purposes.