Combined effects of polyacrylamide and nanomagnetite amendment on soil and water quality, Khorasan Razavi, Iran

Nanotechnology is increasingly being used to remediate polluted soil and water. However, few studies are available assessing the potential of nanoparticles to bind surface particles, decrease erosion, and minimize the loading of water pollutants from agricultural surface discharge. To investigate this potential, we treated in situ field plots with two practical surface application levels of anionic polyacrylamide (PAM only) with and without nanomagnetite (PAM-NM), examined soil physical properties, and evaluated the impact of this amendment on contaminant sorption and soil erosion control. Polyacrylamide and PAM-NM treatments resulted in 32.2 and 151.9 fold reductions in Mn²⁺, 1.8 and 2.7 fold for PO₄^3--P, and 2.3 and 1.6 fold for NH₄⁺-N, respectively, compared to the control. Thus, we found that the combination of PAM and NM, had an important inhibitory effect on NH₄⁺-N and PO₄^3--P transport from soil-pollutants which can contribute substantially to the eutrophication of surface water bodies. Additionally, since the treatment, especially at a high concentration of NM, was effective at reducing Mn²⁺concentrations in the runoff water, the combination of PAM and NM may be important for mitigating potential risks associated with Mn²⁺ toxicity. Average sediment contents in the runoff monitored during the rainfall simulation were reduced by 3.6 and 4.2 fold for the low and high concentration PAM-NM treatments when compared to a control. This treatment was only slightly less effective than the PAM-only applications (4.9 and 5.9 fold, respectively). We report similar findings for turbidity of the runoff (2.6-3.3 fold for PAM only and 1.8-2.3 fold for PAM-NM) which was caused by the effects of both PAM and NM on the binding of surface particles corresponding to an increase in aggregate size and stability. Findings from this field-based study show that PAM-modified NM adsorbents can be used to both inhibit erosion and control contaminant transport.