Use of iodide to enhance the phytoextraction of mercury-contaminated soil

Low bioavailability of mercury (Hg) in soil is a restricting factor in phytoextraction of Hg-contaminated soil. Iodide is known to mobilize Hg in soil and, therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the possibility to use iodide to increase phytoextraction of Hg. The sensitivity of willow to iodide was investigated in both hydroponics with 0-10 mM KI and in soil with 0.2 and 1 mM KI addition. The capacity to accumulate HgI(2) was compared with that of Hg(NO(3))(2) in hydroponics. Soil extractions with 0-2 mM KI were used to study mobilization of Hg in aged Hg-spiked soil. Additions of KI (0.2-1 mM) were used in pot tests with aged Hg-spiked soil as well as in field trials in an industrial Hg-contaminated soil to study whether iodide addition increased the accumulation of Hg from contaminated soil and the translocation of Hg to the shoots. The total Hg contents in plants, soils and extracts were analyzed by CVAAS. The results showed that too high KI concentration was toxic to plants. Moreover, KI was toxic to plants at lower concentrations in hydroponics than in soil additions. KI (85 microM) in hydroponics gave 50% growth decrease in terms of dry weight of shoot biomass, whereas 0.2 mM KI in soil addition could be tolerated by the plant without growth disturbance. Willow accumulated Hg from HgI(2) solution slower than that from Hg(NO(3))(2) solution. KI mobilized Hg in contaminated soil and thereby increased the bioavailability of Hg in soil. Up to 1 mM KI addition increased the Hg concentrations to about 5, 3 and 8 times, respectively, in the leaves, branches and roots. However, the Hg translocation to the shoots did not show an increase with KI addition. Only less than 1% of the total Hg accumulated in the plant was distributed in the shoots. We may conclude that iodide addition enhances the phytoextraction of Hg, however, the translocation of Hg to the shoots is still too low and therefore it will not be realistic to use this method for phytoextraction of Hg-contaminated soil in practice.