Analysis of Soil,

Sediments and Solid

Wastes
Soil pollution is defined as the presence of
toxic chemicals (pollutants or contaminants)
in soil, in high enough concentrations to pose
a risk to human health and/or the ecosystem.
Learning Objectives

• To understand the environmental aspects of solid

wastes, their analysis and ways to recycle or
remediate them.
Highlights

• What is pedosphere?
• Environmental aspects of solid waste
• Remediation Wastes
• Plastics and recycling
• Soil and sediments sampling and analyses guides
• Remediation methods
 Pedosphere
• Pedos means soil in
Greek and the term
pedosphere is used
o denote the soil
cover of the
terrestrial part of
the earth
• Pedology is the science of
soils, and the methods of
studying and analyzing soil
and soil processes are an
integral part of it.
Soil textures are classified by the fractions of USDA Soil Classification
each soil component (sand, silt, clay) present
in the soil.
 Typical Composition of solid waste for countries at different
levels of economic development

 Plastics, glass, and metals each account for about one-tenth of the volume of solid waste in
Developed countries, whereas organic matter (food waste) account for about twice this value.
 The fraction of the waste that is vegetable matter declines as the level of the economic
development rises.
 The opposite is true paper, which in industrialized countries is the largest single component
of waste and dominates commercial sector wastes.
Waste and the Economic, The Economist, May 29, 1993,
S Environmental Survey Section
 Components of a Modern Landfill

Early landfills are just a hole in the ground that leaks. Modern landfills are elaborately designed
and engineered.
Solid wastes are compacted in layers (to reduce its volume) and is covered with about 20cm (8in)
of soil at the conclusion of each day’s operation. Thus the landfill consist of many adjacent cells,
each corresponding to a day’s waste, and the process is continued until the hole is filled.
The landfill is eventually capped by a meter or so of soil, preferably clay or materials that are
impervious to rain.
EPA Recommended Landfill
Designs
Homework:
Research into the stages of
decomposition of garbage in
a landfill
Plastics are everywhere

Recycling, the process of

collecting and processing
materials that would otherwise
be thrown away as trash and
turning them into new
products, benefits the
environment in many
ways. Recycling is not only
significant because it keeps millions of
tons of materials out of landfills and
other disposal facilities, but also
because it conserves natural resources,
saves energy, and reduces emissions of
water and air pollutants, including
greenhouse gas emissions.
 Ways of Recycling Plastics
• Reprocess the plastic (a physical process) by remediating or
reshaping. Usually the plastics are washed, shredded, and ground up,
so that clean, new products can be made. E.g. production of carpet
from recycled PET, grocery bags from recycled HDPE and of CD cases
and office accessories such as trays from recycled polystyrene
• Depolymerize the plastic to its components monomers by a
chemical or thermal proc3ss so that it can be polymerized again. A
catalyst and heat applied to a mixture of methanol and the plastic to
reverse the polymerization process and recover the original
components
 Plastic Recycling Continues
• Transform the plastic chemically into a low-quality
substance from which other materials can be made
• Burn the plastic to obtain energy (energy recycling)
• Recycling Identification Codes
01 PET - Polyethylene terephthalate (examples: soda and water bottles)
02 HDPE - High-density polyethylene (examples: milk bottles and detergent
bottles)
03 PVC - Polyvinyl chloride (examples: juice bottles, cling films, and piping)
04 LDPE - Low-density polyethylene (examples: squeezable bottles and frozen food
bags)
05 PP – Polypropylene (examples: yogurt containers, margarine tubs, disposable
cups and plates)
06 PS – Polystyrene (examples: egg cartons, packing peanuts, disposable cups and
plates)
07 O (Other) – Often Polycarbonate or Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
(examples: baby milk bottles and electronic casing)
 Soil

• Soil is a variable mixture of minerals, organic matter

and water capable of supporting plant life. A typical soil
contains approximately ~5% organic matter and ~95%
inorganic matter.
• The inorganic components of soil form from the breakdown of rocks
and minerals. The key to understanding soil types is to know the
parent minerals from which the soil was formed
 Soil Formation and Horizons
Soil forms on a layer of unconsolidated rock lying on bedrock and called the
regolith

Soil exhibits a
variety of layers
called horizons
 Sediments
Sediments are rocks carried and deposited by water
• Dissolved load • Suspended load • Bed load
 Soil Composition

• The chemical composition of these food sources is

predominately carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous,
nitrogen, potassium, sodium and calcium
• Plants extract these elements from the soil in which they grow
and configure them into the products we recognize as food.
• Each plant has unique nutritional requirements that are
obtained through the roots from the soil.
 Healthy Soil

• A healthy soil has physical properties that allow roots to easily

penetrate to the smallest particles, a high exchange capacity
to allow nutrients to be used as needed, and the correct
chemicals needed for optimum growth rates
• The same principles that govern transport of pollutants also govern
the way in which nutrients are moved into growing plants. Nutrients
are stored in soil on "exchange sites" of the organic and clay
components
 Composition

• Calcium, magnesium, ammonium, potassium and the vast

majority of the micronutrients are present as cations under most
soil pHs. The cation exchange capacity of soils is an important
measure of its ability to store these nutrients and provide them
to growing plants as needed.
• Organic substances (humic and fulvic acids, humus) contain exchange sights
because of the presence of carboxylic acids. An organic component is an
essential ingredient of all healthy soils
 Soil pH

• The carboxylic acids exchange protons in soil in the same

manner that protons are exchanged in aqueous solution.
Soil pH is therefore an important parameter, which
affects the ability of a soil sample to exchange cations
and the ease with which nutrients move through the soil.
• Ideally, a soil sample should have a pH near 6.5 to provide for optimum
nutrient storage capacity and ease of movement to the plant roots.
 Phosporus

• Phosphorous is present in soil as orthophosphate (PO43-).

The two forms of phosphate that are present in soil under
most conditions, HPO42- and H2PO4-, are anions. Phosphate
complexes of most metals have very low solubilities, and
phosphate is therefore relatively immobile in soil.
Macronutrients

• Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are used in

large quantities by all growing organisms. Since
they are typically present in soil at the percentage
level, they are call macronutrients.
• Deficiency of any of these three elements reduces plant growth
and lowers crop production.
 The Macronutrients
Element Symbol Chemical Form in Soil
Calcium Ca Ca2+
Carbon C HCO3-, CO32-
Hydrogen H H+
Magnesium Mg Mg2+
Nitrogen N NO3-, NH4+
Oxygen O HO-
Phosphorous P H2PO4-, HPO42-
Potassium K K+
Sodium Na Na+
Macronutrients

• Fertilizers are substances used to replenish these

essential nutrients. Synthetic chemicals are often used
for this purpose, but manure and compost work just as
well (some people think they are better), and permit
organic wastes to be put to good use.
• The macronutrients are used by plants (and animals) to build amino
acids and proteins. Phosphate forms the backbone of DNA and is used to
store energy in chemical bonds.
Essential Micronutrients

• Micronutrients are classified as "essential" and

"non-essential."
• An essential plant nutrient is one that is required
for life, whereas a non-essential plant nutrient
(present in soil a very low levels) will increase crop
yield--but its absence will not cause the organism
to die
 Essential Micronutrients
Element Symbol Chemical Form in Soil
Boron B H3BO3
Chlorine Cl Cl-
Copper Cu Cu2+
Iron Fe Fe2+, Fe3+
Manganese Mn Mn2+
Molybdenum Mo MoO42-
Sulfur S SO42-
Zinc Zn Zn2+
 Essential micronutrients(2)

• Essential micronutrients are elements used at trace levels in

enzymes to assist with special body processes.
• Some examples where essential micronutrients are required
include oxygen transport by hemoglobin and electron transport in
cell metabolism.
• The role of non-essential micronutrients is not well understood
and is an area of on-going research.
 Non-essential Micronutrients
Element Symbol Chemical Form in Soil
Aluminum Al Al3+, Al(OH)2+
Cadmium Cd Cd2+
Cobalt Co Co2+
Lead Pb Pb2+
Mercury Hg Hg2+
Nickel Ni Ni2+
Selenium Se SeO42-
Silicon Si SiO2
Pesticides and Chemical
Wastes in Soil
Pesticides are used in all forms of agriculture to
control unwanted insects and plants
 Arsenic

• Paris green, a form of arsenic, was used to control the

potato beetle until the advent of modern synthetic
pesticides that have been used since the 1950s.
• Fields that were treated with Paris green fifty years ago still contain
unacceptable levels of arsenic, since the arsenic cannot be degraded
into another substance and the only natural removal mechanism is
leaching
 Chlorinated Hydrocarbons

• Chlorinated hydrocarbons became popular as broad-

spectrum pesticides after World War II, the most widely
used being DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane).
• Other pesticides that are classified as chlorinated hydrocarbons
include: Methoxychlor, Dieldrin, Endrin, Chlordane, Aldrin, Endrin,
Heptachlor, Toxaphene and Lindane
• These substances do not last as long as non-degradable substances
like arsenic, but they do have unacceptably long half-lives in the
soil
 Industrial Wastes

• In years past it was common practice to deposit industrial wastes

in landfills of simply bury containers of waste chemical in the soil.
This material is not easily degraded and has the potential to
pollute the groundwater
• Once in the soil, these substances can enter the food chain by
being incorporated into plant tissue, which is eaten by livestock
• The most infamous example of such a case occurred in Michigan, where dairy
cattle were exposed to PCBs. PCB contaminated milk was consumed by people
who drank the milk and the cattle had to be destroyed
 Lead Wastes

• Lead can be a problem when lead washes off buildings

that have been painted with lead based paint
(common with old buildings).
• Lead additives to gasoline caused significant increases
to lead soil levels near major highways.
• Legislation to remove the lead additives stopped this source of lead,
but the legacy of lead based gasoline will remain in the soils near
major metropolitan thorofares for years to come
 Smelting Process

• In years past, lead and copper smelters caused significant

environmental degradation with fallout from the smelting
process.
• Restrictions on environmental emissions have done much
to correct this problem, but the soil near most smelters is
still contaminated. In most cases, the only mechanism for
cleanup of these areas is the natural leaching process that
was discussed earlier in the course.
Soil Loss

• Soil is a resource that can be lost through erosion

or degraded to the point where it will no longer
support plant life. Loss of fertility is a major
problem in arid regions of the world, and is
responsible for significant decreases in the earth’s
arable land
Desertification

• Desertification describes this loss of fertility when

drought, or lack of water for irrigation, is the cause
for loss of viability. Many countries in Africa and the
Middle East must deal with desertification in an on-
going basis.
• It is a problem in the southwestern U.S. and in
South America and Australia.
 Soil Sampling

Read the uploaded Purdue Soil

Sampling Guidelines in Canvas

Push probes, hammer probes, and bucket

augers (Figure 1) are commonly used because Dividing fields and production areas into
they are capable of taking uniform samples sampling zones
with depth.
 Eckman Sediment Sampler
• This is the grab to choose for soft, finely divided littoral
bottoms that are free from vegetation, such as sticks
and decayed leaves (or with short, erect vegetation
only) as well as intermixtures of sand, stones and other
coarse debris. The specialized function of this dredge is the taking of
quantitative and qualitative samples of macroscopic bottom fauna to determine the
productivity of soft bottoms, particularly those composed of finely divided muck, mud,
ooze, submerged marl and fine peaty materials
Coning and Quartering

https://mycotoxinmanagement.h5mag.com/m
ycotoxin_management_-_issue_9/back-2-
basics#popup-6
Quartering a larger sample size
Ohio EPA Sediment
Sampling Guide
Chemical Analysis
Sampling the Core
Remediation of Contaminated Soils

•Containment
• Immobilization
• Mobilization
•Destruction

In-situ or ex-situ
Remediation of Contaminated Soils

In-situ containment: capping of contaminated

sites with clay; Imposition of cutoff walls of low
permeability.
Ex-situ containment: Excavate contaminated soil
and place in special landfill
Immobilization techniques:solidification and
stabilization. E.g. reaction with Portland cement,
entomb waste in molten glass
Mobilization techniques: Soil washing and
extraction, thermal desorption.
 Bioremediation - Destruction Techniques

•Incineration -oxidize contaminants

•Bioremediation:metabolic activities of living
organisms degrade wastes.
-Anaerobic treatment
-Aerobic treatment
Using Oxygen to Enhance
Biodegradation of Contaminant

Adding oxygen to contaminant plumes promotes the aerobic

biodegradation of petroleum contaminants such as gasoline.
Phytoremediation
Front.
Plant Sci.,
30 April
2020
Sec. Plant
Biotechn
ology
https://d
oi.org/10.
3389/fpls.
2020.003
59

Plants that hyperaccumulate heavy metals need to be tested to determine whether

they are now toxic. If they are, they must be disposed of properly and safely – do not
compost them down and re-spread that compost on site.
Extract Lead from soil Using
Hyperaccumulator Plants

Corn (Zea Mays) Sunflower

Alpine Pennycress (Helianthus Annuus)
(Thlaspi caerulescens)
Lower Soil pH – Lead can be extracted
easier under acidic conditions
Once you’ve managed to decrease the pH of your soil, then plant multiple
rotations of lead-accumulating plants (e.g. geraniums, corn, sunflowers,
brown mustard, alpine pennycress, vetiver), and be sure to take the proper
precautions with their testing and disposal.
 Soil Conservation and Restoration

Soil conservation is the oldest environmental movement

• Conservation tillage (minimal soil disturbance)
• Future possible use of perennial plants that retain roots in soil
• Terraces and contour cultivation (see figure below)
 Soil Restoration

Soil can be imparired

• Fertility loss • Erosion • Salinity buildup • Phytotoxins (zinc)
Soil restoration
• Construct terraces and flat areas
• Cultivate crops that add organic matter
• Add nutrients
• Neutralize excess acid or base
• Leach salinity or alkalinity
Things to Remember
• Terms: Pedosphere, Coning, Quartering,
• Major chemicals in the pedosphere
• The soil triangle for identifying soil texture
• Solid wastes: Landfills, soil chemistry, plastic recycling techniques
• Sediment sampling guides and methodologies (see Ohio example)
• Soil sampling and analysis
• Dissolution and extraction (refer earlier lectures)
• Fusion (refer earlier lectures)
• Acid digestion (refer earlier lectures)
• Soil remediation methods
Home Work

• Why do you think that it is important to prevent

soil pollution?
• List the main categories of soil pollutants and their
sources
• Discuss the problems of soil sampling and analysis