Environ Sci Pollut Res (2015) 22:223–230
DOI 10.1007/s11356-014-3299-4
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Immobilization of Pb, Cd, and Zn in a contaminated soil using
eggshell and banana stem amendments: metal leachability
and a sequential extraction study
Mehrnaz Ashrafi & Sharifah Mohamad & Ismail Yusoff &
Fauziah Shahul Hamid
Received: 1 December 2013 / Accepted: 6 July 2014 / Published online: 2 5 July 2014
# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Abstract Heavy-metal-contaminated soil is one of the major
environmental pollution issues all over the world. In this
study, two low-cost amendments, inorganic eggshell and or-
ganic banana stem, were applied to slightly alkaline soil for
the purpose of in situ immobilization of Pb, Cd, and Zn. The
artificially metal-contaminated soil was treated with 5 % egg-
shell or 10 % banana stem. To simulate the rainfall conditions,
a metal leaching experiment for a period of 12 weeks was
designed, and the total concentrations of the metals in the
leachates were determined every 2 weeks. The results from
the metal leaching analysis revealed that eggshell amendment
generally reduced the concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Zn in the
leachates, whereas banana stem amendment was effective
only on the reduction of Cd concentration in the leachates. A
sequential extraction analysis was carried out at the end of the
experiment to find out the speciation of the heavy metals in the
amended soils. Eggshell amendment notably decreased mo-
bility of Pb, Cd, and Zn in the soil by transforming their
readily available forms to less accessible fractions. Banana
stem amendment also reduced exchangeable form of Cd and
increased its residual form in the soil.
Responsible editor: Céline Guéguen
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article
(doi:10.1007/s11356-014-3299-4) contains supplementary material,
which is available to authorized users.
M. Ashrafi (*) : F. Shahul Hamid
Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
e-mail: mehrnaz_ashrafi@yahoo.com
S. Mohamad
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya,
Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
I. Yusoff
Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya,
Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Keywords Eggshell . Banana Stem . Heavy metals .
Immobilization . Metal leaching . Sequential extraction
Introduction
Heavy metals may enter the ecosystem through emissions
from various anthropogenic activities such as mine tailing,
smelting and refining, disposal of hazardous wastes, agricul-
ture, sewage sludge, and improper solid waste management
(Khan et al. 2008; Zhang et al. 2010). Excessive accumula-
tions of metals in soil, as a result of rapid industrialization,
have a high adverse biological effect on human, plant, and
other living organisms (Doumett et al. 2008). Moreover, un-
like organic pollution, most metals do not undergo any chem-
ical or microbial degradation. Therefore, the total concentra-
tions of these metals persist in the environment for a long time.
Soil may act as a sink for heavy metals discharged into the
environment, and through this pathway, the heavy metals can
be transferred to food chain (Li et al. 2008). One of the major
concerns on metal-contaminated soil is when the metal con-
taminations leach to the groundwater and pollute water
bodies.
To overcome the problem in dealing with heavy-metal-
contaminated soil, several methods have been identified such
as electrokinetic, phytorextraction, and soil washing.
However, in most of them, a secondary action is required as
a finishing step to the remedial process since the metal pollu-
tions are still in bioavailable form in the environment. For
instance, in the electrokinetic technique, after the heavy metals
are concentrated at the electrodes and pumped to the surface,
the metal pollutants need to be disposed off properly, or in the
phytoextraction technique, disposal of hazardous biomass is
required after the treatment (US EPA 1997). Among the
widespread methods for soil remediation, in situ immobiliza-
tion has been developed as one of the most cost-effective
224
techniques. In this technique, a low-cost exterior agent is
added to the soil to fix the heavy metals in the soil, thus
diminishing leachability and bioavailability of the metals
(Guo et al. 2006; Ruttens et al. 2010; Houben et al. 2012).
Heavy metals can be immobilized in soil by three mecha-
nisms, adsorption, precipitation/co-precipitation, and com-
plexation (Farrell et al. 2010). These processes of stabilization
of heavy metals can be improved by adding some organic and
inorganic amendments to the soil (Park et al. 2011). Natural
materials that are available in large quantities, and certain
waste products from industrial or agricultural operations,
may have a potential as inexpensive amendments for heavy
metal immobilization in soil (Guo et al. 2006; Gadepalle et al.
2007). For instance, lime-based materials are one of the most
commonly used amendments for immobilization of heavy-
metal-contaminated soil (Ruttens et al. 2010). Compared to
the extensive studies devoted to immobilization of heavy
metals in acidic soils, metal immobilization in alkaline soils
is understudied. The immobilizing effects of the amendments
in acidic soil have often been attributed to the increase in soil
pH, especially when a lime-based amendment is used (Ok
et al. 2011; Ahmad et al. 2012). In alkaline soils, however, the
addition of amendments may not necessarily raise the soil pH
but immobilize heavy metals through other immobilizing
mechanisms (De la Fuente et al. 2011; Zhou et al. 2012).
In this study, two natural amendments, eggshell and banana
stem, were used for the purpose of in situ immobilization of
Pb, Cd, and Zn in soil. Eggshell is a by-product which is
usually generated as a waste in a large amount in all countries.
This waste material contains high level of calcium carbonate
(CaCO3) (Ahmad et al. 2012), which may play a role as an
immobilizing agent to fix the metals in the soil (Ok et al.
2011). Eggshell, as a source of CaCO3, has been used before
for immobilizing Pb and Cd in acidic soils, and the effect was
attributed to the increase of pH caused by the amendment (Ok
et al. 2011; Ahmad et al. 2012; Lee et al. 2013). However, the
application of this amendment as a fixing agent in alkaline soil
has not been reported yet. In this study, we investigated the use
of this inexpensive amendment for immobilization of Pb, Cd,
and Zn in slightly alkaline soil.
Banana stem is a commonly available natural material.
After harvesting banana fruits, banana stem (BS) is often
undervalued and considered as a waste material, creating a
major disposal problem (Anirudhan and Shibi 2007). It con-
tains cellulose, hemicellulose, and tannin (Li et al. 2010)
which may adsorb heavy metals by forming metal complexes
(Noeline et al. 2005). The carboxyl groups of these compo-
nents are the main reaction sites responsible for metal binding.
Several studies have used banana stem to remediate heavy-
metal-contaminated wastewaters (Noeline et al. 2005;
Anirudhan and Shibi 2007). However, up to date of this study,
there is no report on the use of this inexpensive agriculture
residue on immobilization of metals in soil.
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2015) 22:223–230
The aim of soil remediation in this study was not to remove
Pb, Cd, and Zn from the soil, but to change the chemical
properties of the soil using the above mentioned amendments,
thereby reducing bioavailability of the heavy metals. To
achieve the aim of this research, a metal leaching experiment
was carried out to simulate the rainfall conditions. Moreover, a
sequential extraction analysis was conducted to find out the
metal speciation in the soil.
Materials and methods
Reagents
The salts CdCl2·H2O (purity >99 %), Pb(C2H3O2)2·3H2O
(purity >99.5 %), and Zn(C2H3O2)2·2H2O (purity >99 %)
were purchased from AJAX (Australia), BDH (UK), and
Fluka (Switzerland), respectively. The reagents HNO3 65 %,
HF 40 %, and HCl 37 % were supplied by Fisher Chemical
(USA). The standard solutions of the elements for the induc-
tively coupled plasma (ICP) calibration were purchased from
PerkinElmer (USA). The accuracy of the soil digestion pro-
cedures was obtained using Community Bureau of Reference
(BCR) standard material. Ultrapure water with a resistivity of
18.2 MΩ·cm was used for all the procedures.
Soil sampling and characterization
A fresh soil sample was collected from the top soil (15-cm
depth) of the Institute Science Biological farm at University of
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The soil sample was air-
dried for 10 days and pulverized to pass through a 2-mm
plastic sieve before analysis. Particle size distribution was
determined by hydrometer method. pH and electrical conduc-
tivity (EC) were measured in a 1:5 soil-to-water ratio. Cation
exchange capacity was determined using the BaCl2 compul-
sive exchange method. Total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen
(TN) were determined using a CHNS analyzer (PerkinElmer
2400 elemental analyzer). Soil organic matter (OM) was
determined by Walkley-Black method. The main physico-
chemical properties of the uncontaminated soil are listed in
Table 1.
Soil preparation
The soil sample was artificially spiked with the following
metal salts:
– CdCl2·H2O
– Pb(C2H3O2)2·3H2O
– Zn(C2H3O2)2·2H2O
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2015) 22:223–230 225

Table 1 Physicochemical properties of uncontaminated soil

Texture Sandy TN (%) 0.17±0.02 Al (mg kg−1) 2846.00±18.47

pH 7.83±0.08 TC (%) 0.40±0.04 Pb (mg kg−1) 23.70±0.99

EC (dSm−1) 0.115±0.01 Ca (mg kg−1) 272.20±61.37 Cd (mg kg−1) 5.20±0.57
CEC (cmol kg−1) 2.60±0.20 Mn (mg kg−1) 118.26±41.30 Zn (mg kg−1) 4.80±1.97
OM (%) 3.39±0.23 Fe (mg kg−1) 4407.40±239.27

EC electric conductivity, CEC cation exchange capacity, OM organic matter, TN total nitrogen, TC total carbon

The air-dried soil was mixed with aqueous solution containing
20 mg Cd2+, 700 mg Pb2+, and 900 mg Zn2+ per kilogram of soil,
which were prepared by dissolving their metal salts into deion-
ized water. This enrichment was based on the International Dutch
Soil Standard and exceeded its intervention value level of heavy
metals to simulate a highly contaminated soil (Dutch Target and
Intervention Values 2000). The treated soil was left at room
temperature (24–28 °C) to equilibrate undergoing a wetting
period with the soil moist at water holding capacity (WHC) for
3 weeks and an air drying period for a further 3 weeks. The pH of
the soil sample after the metal contamination procedure was
determined to be 7.3.
Amendment
In this experiment, both inorganic eggshell and organic ba-
nana stem were sourced locally (from Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia). The banana stems were repeatedly washed with
distilled water to remove any dust or other impurities and sun-
dried for 24 h. The biomass was then dried in an oven at 80 °C
to reach a constant weight. The collected eggshells were
washed thoroughly with distilled water to remove extra resi-
dues from the inner and outer surfaces. The cuticles were
oven-dried at 105 °C to obtain a constant weight. The
completely dried amendments were ground by an electric
dry grinder before their addition to the soil. The selected
properties of the amendments are given in Table 2.
wool plug were placed to prevent coarse particles from draining
out of the pot. Each pot was connected to a high-density poly-
ethylene (HDPE) container to collect the leachate from the
perforated bottom of each pot. The pot was tightly closed to
prevent the evaporation. Incubation time was 12 weeks and a
total of six leachings were performed.
Metal analysis
The total metal concentrations in the soil and the amendments
were determined by ICP atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-
AES) after acid digestion using a microwave reaction system
(Anton Paar, Multiwave 3000). The soil was microwave-acid-
digested using the US EPA method 3052 (HNO3/HF/HCl,
9:3:2). The BCR-146R (trace elements in sewage sludge from
industrial origin) was used as a certified standard reference
material. Eggshell and banana stem amendments were also
acid-digested according to the US EPA method 3052 (9 mL
HNO3). For the purpose of leachate analysis, leachates were
collected every 2 weeks. A small portion of aqueous was
allocated for pH determination, and the rests were filtered
through a 0.45-μm PTF filter and analyzed by ICP-AES.
Sequential extraction procedures
The effect of each amendment on metal leachability and metal
availability was evaluated using sequential extraction procedures

Leaching pot design Table 2 Properties of amendments

Amendments Eggshell Banana stem

A leaching pot experiment was carried out to investigate the
effect of eggshell and banana stem amendments on the metal pH 8.37±0.08 8.89±0.04
immobilization in the soil. Each plastic pot (with a diameter of TN (%) 0.28±0.07 0.23±0.03
20 cm and a height of 12 cm) was filled with 1 kg of the metal- TC (%) 1.1±0.08 6.11±0.6
contaminated soil. The inorganic eggshell and the organic banana Ca (mg kg−1) 42,051.60±664.68 975.90±22.76
stem amendments were added to the soil at 5 and 10 % (w/w), Mn (mg kg−1) 0.10±0.14 76.70±2.12
respectively. These rates were based on the work of others (Zhou Fe (mg kg−1) 74.80 BD
et al. 2012). The treatment was performed in triplicates and a Al (mg kg−1) BD BD
control treatment was also carried out with the same procedure Pb (mg kg−1) BD 0.01±0.01
but without any amendments. The added amendments were Cd (mg kg−1) BD BD
thoroughly mixed with the soil and irrigated at their WHC for Zn (mg kg−1) BD BD
a period of 30 days to equilibrate. At the bottom of each pot, two
disks of filter paper (Whatman No. 41) followed by a quartz TN total nitrogen, TC, total carbon, BD below detection
226 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2015) 22:223–230

according to the method proposed by Tessier et al. (1979) which
defined metal fractionation into five types: (i) exchangeable, (ii)
bound to carbonate, (iii) bound to Fe-Mn oxides, (iv) bound to
organic matter, and (v) residual. In this extraction, 1 g of soil
sample was placed in a 50-mL tube. The sample was exposed to
appropriate extractants and shaken (Table 3). Each fraction was
separated from the supernatant by centrifugation at 10,000 rpm
for 30 min. The supernatant was collected, filtered, and analyzed
by ICP-AES. The soil was rinsed with 8 mL of deionized water
and centrifuged again. The second supernatant was discarded.
For the residual fraction, the residue from step (iv) was dried and
digested following the method described for the total concentra-
tions of metals in the soil.
Statistical analysis
The evaluation of pH and the concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Zn in
the leachates of the amended soils and the control treatment as a
function of time were examined using Microsoft Excel. The
variance and significant differences of Pb, Cd, and Zn concen-
trations in the different treatments along with time were analyzed
by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Prior to
MANOVA, normality and homogeneity of variances were tested
and logarithmic transformation was applied to dependent vari-
ables when necessary. Pearson correlation coefficients were also
computed to determine the correlations between the metal con-
centrations in the leachates.
Results and discussions
Leaching pot experiment
The leachates of amended soils were analyzed during the 12-
week incubation period for their pH and metal concentrations,
and the results were compared to those of the control treatment
(unamended soil).
Effect of amendments on leachate pH
The addition of 5 % eggshell or 10 % banana stem amend-
ments did not have any statistically significant effect on the
pH of the leachates during the period of the experiment
(Fig. 1a) which can be attributed to the buffer capacity of the
soil (De la Fuente et al. 2008, 2011). Thus, the leachate pH of
both soil-amended treatments and the control treatment during
the 12-week experiment ranged between 7.3 and 7.7. Many
studies have suggested that pH is one of the key parameters
governing metal immobilization in soil (Chen et al. 2000;
Hodson et al. 2001; Zhao and Masaihiko 2007; Lee et al.
2013). Since, in our study, the addition of the amendments did
not significantly alter the pH of the leachates, it is logical to
conclude that the metal leaching is controlled by other param-
eters rather than pH.
Effect of amendments on metal leaching
The results from the metal leaching analysis indicated that
regardless of the positive or negative effects of the amend-
ments, the concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Zn in the leachates
decreased during the period of the experiment. Thus, the
heavy metal leaching was less pronounced at the end of the
experiment. This might be ascribed to the drain of highly
soluble forms of the heavy metals at the beginning of the
experiment.
The strong positive correlation (r=0.91, P<0.01) between
Cd and Zn concentrations in the leachates (deduced from the
Pearson correlation coefficient) suggests a similar leaching
behavior for Cd and Zn. This is in agreement with the
observation made by Houben et al. (2012); Schwab et al.
(2007); and Sneddon et al. (2006). However, in our experi-
ment, unlike their findings, a positive correlation (r=0.34,
P<0.05) was also found between Pb and Zn concentrations
in the leachates.
Figure 1b–f shows the effect of eggshell and banana stem
amendments on the metal leaching during the 12-week

Table 3 Operating conditions for sequential extraction procedures on 1 g of the soil

Time Conditions Quantity Extractants

Exchangeable 1 h Continuous agitation at room temp 8 mL 1 M MgCl2, pH 7.0

Bound to carbonates 5 h Continuous agitation at room temp. 8 mL 1 M NaOAc/HOAc, pH=5.0
Bound to Fe-Mn oxides 6 h 96 °C±3, occasional agitation 20 mL 0.04 M NH2OH·HCl in 25 % (v/v) HOAc
Bound to organic matter 2 h 85 °C±2, occasional agitation 3 mL 0.02 M HNO3
5 mL 30 % H2O2, pH 2.0 with HNO3
3h 85 °C±2, intermittent agitation 3 mL 30 % H2O2, pH 2.0 with HNO3
30 min Continuous agitation at room temp 5 mL 3.2 M NH4OAc in 20 % (v/v) HNO3-diluted to 20 mL
Residual 20 min 180 °C±5 9 mL HNO3
3 mL HF
2 mL HCl
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2015) 22:223–230 227

Fig. 1 Evaluation of pH (a) and Pb (b), Cd (c), Zn (d), Fe (e), and Al (f) concentrations in the leachates of eggshell-amended soil (EG), banana-stem-
amended soil (BS), and the control treatment (Ctrl) as a function of time. Each point represents the average of three replicates

experiment. The results revealed that the addition of eggshell
amendment decreased the concentrations of Pb in the leach-
ates by 10 % at the first sampling. Although Pb leaching was
fluctuated during the period of the experiment, it was de-
creased by 28 % at the end of the experiment compared to
that of the control treatment. On contrary, the treatment with
banana stem significantly (P<0.05) increased the concentra-
tions of Pb during the whole experiment. Cd concentrations in
the leachates of both amended soils were significantly
(P < 0.05) decreased compared to those of the control
228 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2015) 22:223–230

treatment. The cumulative amount of Cd in the leachates after The increase in Pb and Zn leaching induced by banana
six leaching events was reduced by 83 and 78 % in eggshell- stem amendment might be due to the formation of water-
and banana-stem-amended soils, respectively. Moreover, egg- soluble complexes of Pb and Zn with some organic
shell amendment significantly (P<0.05) decreased Zn con- components of banana stem amendment. Zhou et al. (2012)
centrations in the leachates during the period of the experi- also suggested the release of heavy metals into the leachates
ment by 70 % compared to that of the control treatment through the formation of soluble metal-organic complexes.
while the addition of banana stem amendment had a
fluctuate effect on Zn leaching. The amendment had a
significant (P < 0.05) positive effect on reducing Zn Metal distributions and fractionation in soil
leaching at the first sampling. However, Zn concentra-
tion was slightly higher than that of the control treat- The metal leaching analysis yielded information about the
ment at the end of the experiment. total concentration of a heavy metal that penetrated to the
In the related studies, immobilization of heavy metals by leachates. However, it gave us only some indication of con-
eggshell amendment in acidic soils was explained based on tamination level in the soil and may not be very informative in
the increase in the soil pH caused by the amendment (Ahmad terms of potential environmental and human health risks.
et al. 2012; Lee et al. 2013; Ok et al. 2011). However, in our Therefore, the forms of the metals in the soil induced by the
experiment, the soil was alkaline itself and the addition of the addition of the amendments were determined by the sequen-
amendments did not significantly alter the pH of the leachates. tial extraction analysis. The distributions and percentages of
Therefore, it can be concluded that factors other than pH were Pb, Cd, and Zn chemical fractions in eggshell- and banana-
responsible for the observed metal immobilization. Other stem-amended soils and in the control treatment are shown in
studies also suggest that several parameters different from Fig. 2.
pH can control metal immobilization in soil (Houben et al.
2012; Ruttens et al. 2010; Ma et al. 2012). For instance,
Houben et al. (2012) reported that the addition of CaCO3
and bone meal into the metal-contaminated soil induced an
alkaline pH (around 7.8–8.0) in the leachates of both amended
soils at the beginning of the experiment. However, the bone
meal amendment was by far less efficient than CaCO3 in
reducing Pb, Cd, and Zn concentrations in the leachates.
They also reported that the application of manure and benton-
ite amendments to immobilize Pb, Cd, and Zn resulted in a
similar pH (around 7.2–7.4), but the latter was less efficient in
reducing Pb, Cd, and Zn concentrations in the leachates. In
our study, also the addition of eggshell or banana stem amend-
ments into the soil resulted in a similar pH; however, eggshell
amendment was much more effective than banana stem
amendment in immobilizing Pb and Zn in the soil.
Heavy metals may be immobilized through the co-
precipitation process in the presence of Fe and Al
oxyhydroxides (Kumpiene et al. 2008; Ruttens et al. 2010).
The metal leaching analysis revealed a very strong positive
correlation between Pb and Fe concentrations (r = 0.90,
P<0.01) and between Pb and Al concentrations (r=0.72,
P < 0.01). Also, a weak positive correlation (r = 0.31,
P<0.05) was found between Zn and Fe concentrations in the
leachates. These results suggest that co-precipitation of Pb
with Fe and/or Al (hydr)oxide and Zn with Fe (hydr)oxide is
an important mechanism in the immobilizations of Pb and Zn
in eggshell-amended soil, thus provide an explanation for the
observed positive effect of eggshell on fixing Zn and Pb in the
Fig. 2 Pb, Cd, and Zn distributions and fractionation by sequential
soil. This is in agreement with Contin et al. (2008) who extraction in the control treatment (Ctrl), eggshell-amended soils (EG),
observed the co-precipitation of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn onto and banana-stem-amended soil (BS). Data indicate the average of three
Fe (hydr)oxide precipitates. replicates
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2015) 22:223–230
Despite the differences in fraction percentages in the
amended soils and the control treatment, the distributions of
Cd in the five chemical fractions exhibited a similar pattern
(residual > exchangeable > carbonate > Fe-Mn > organic
matter). The distribution of Zn fractions in both amended soils
and in the control treatment was similar and followed the order
carbonate > residual > exchangeable > Fe-Mn > organic
matter. The addition of the amendment changed the sequence
of Pb distribution in the soil; however, the highest amount of
Pb in amended soils and in the control treatment was found in
the bound to carbonate fractions.
The application of eggshell amendment generally in-
creased residual fractions and decreased exchangeable frac-
tions for the studied heavy metals. While exchangeable frac-
tion is considered the most mobile form, residual fraction
contains minerals which hold metals in their structures and
do not release them under normal conditions in nature.
(Tessier et al. 1979). Therefore, the sequential extraction
results are consistent with the observed decrease in the metal
leaching induced by eggshell. The treatment of the soil with
eggshell also resulted in an increase in bound to carbonate
fraction of Cd from 4.4 to 11.9 %. This might be due to the
high CaCO3 content of eggshell which promotes formation of
CdCO3.
Treatment of the soil with banana stem resulted in consid-
erable increase in bound to Fe-Mn and also bound to organic
matter fractions of Pb. The latter may indicate the relatively
high affinity of Pb to form complexes with the organic coor-
dinating components in banana stem. The water solubility of
the formed complexes, even though might be low, can ratio-
nalize the increased Pb leachability in the presence of banana
stem. The addition of banana stem amendment increased
residual fraction and reduced exchangeable fraction of Cd,
which is in agreement with the decreased Cd leaching caused
by banana stem. In contrast, banana stem did not alter residual
and exchangeable fractions of Zn significantly. It only slightly
shifted Zn distribution from carbonate to Fe-Mn fraction. The
metal leaching analysis also shows that banana stem did not
have any significant effect on Zn leaching at the end of the
experiment.
Conclusion
This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of
eggshell and banana stem amendments as two low-cost fixing
agents for the in situ immobilization of Pb, Cd, and Zn in
slightly alkaline contaminated soil. The results from the metal
leaching analysis indicated that the addition of eggshell and
banana stem amendments effectively decreased the concen-
tration of Cd in the leachates. Moreover, eggshell amendment
reduced Zn leaching remarkably and to a lesser extent Pb
229
leaching. The results from the sequential extraction analysis
showed that eggshell amendment reduced exchangeable frac-
tion of Pb, Cd, and Zn in the soil and increased their residual
fraction which is the most stable form of metals in the soil.
Banana stem amendment also reduced exchangeable form of
Cd in the soil and transformed it into residual fraction,
resulting in lowering Cd mobility in the amended soil. The
effect of each amendment is case specific and generalizations
are not appropriate to make. Besides, caution should be taken
when dealing with a multimetal-contaminated soil, as one
amendment can be effective in immobilization of one metal
while mobilizing another. Our study suggests that eggshell
amendment can be used as a low-cost and environmentally
safe additive for the remediation of slightly alkaline soil
contaminated with Pb, Cd, and Zn. Banana stem amendment
can also be applied as a cost-effective fixing agent in a Cd-
contaminated soil.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge the Uni-
versity of Malaya for the financial assistant through PPP grant No. P0001-
2012B.
References
Ahmad M, Hashimoto Y, Moon DH, Lee SS, Ok YS (2012)
Immobilization of lead in a Korean military shooting range soil
using eggshell waste: an integrated mechanistic approach. J
Hazard Mater 209:392–401
Anirudhan T, Shibi I (2007) Preparation of a cation exchanger containing
carboxyl groups from banana stalk and its utilization as chelating
agent. Infomusa 16(1&2):7–11
Chen H, Zheng C, Tu C, Shen Z (2000) Chemical methods and
phytoremediation of soil contaminated with heavy metals.
Chemosphere 41(1):229–234
Contin M, Mondini C, Leita L, Zaccheo P, Crippa L, De Nobili M (2008)
Immobilisation of soil toxic metals by repeated additions of Fe(II)
sulphate solution. Geoderma 147(3&4):133–140
De la Fuente C, Clemente R, Bernal M (2008) Changes in metal speci-
ation and pH in olive processing waste and sulphur-treated contam-
inated soil. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 70(2):207–215
De la Fuente C, Clemente R, Martínez-Alcalá I, Tortosa G, Bernal MP
(2011) Impact of fresh and composted solid olive husk and their
water-soluble fractions on soil heavy metal fractionation; microbial
biomass and plant uptake. J Hazard Mater 186(2):1283–1289
Doumett S, Lamperi L, Checchini L, Azzarello E, Mugnai S, Mancuso S,
Petruzzelli G, Del Bubba M (2008) Heavy metal distribution be-
tween contaminated soil and Paulownia tomentosa, in a pilot-scale
assisted phytoremediation study: influence of different complexing
agents. Chemosphere 72(10):1481–1490
Dutch Target and Intervention Values (the New Dutch List) (2000) Esdat
Environmental Database Management Software. Available at:http://
www.esdat.net/Environmental%20Standards/Dutch/annexS_
I2000Dutch%20Environmental%20Standards.pdf. Last Accessed
Mar 2014
Farrell M, Perkins WT, Hobbs PJ, Griffith GW, Jones DL (2010)
Migration of heavy metals in soil as influenced by compost amend-
ments. Environ Pollut 158(1):55–64
Gadepalle VP, Ouki SK, Herwijnen RV, Hutchings T (2007)
Immobilization of heavy metals in soil using natural and waste
230
materials for vegetation establishment on contaminated sites. Soil
Sediment Contam 16(2):233–251
Guo G, Zhou Q, Ma LQ (2006) Availability and assessment of fixing
additives for the in situ remediation of heavy metal contaminated
soils: a review. Environ Monit Assess 116(1–3):513–528
Hodson M, Valsami-Jones E, Cotter-Howells J, Dubbin W, Kemp A,
Thornton I, Warren A (2001) Effect of bone meal (calcium phos-
phate) amendments on metal release from contaminated soils—a
leaching column study. Environ Pollut 112(2):233–243
Houben D, Pircar J, Sonnet P (2012) Heavy metal immobilization
by cost-effective amendments in a contaminated soil: effects on
metal leaching and phytoavailability. J Geochem Explor 123:
87–94
Khan S, Cao Q, Zheng Y, Huang Y, Zhu Y (2008) Health risks of heavy
metals in contaminated soils and food crops irrigated with wastewa-
ter in Beijing, China. Environ Pollut 152(3):686–692
Kumpiene J, Lagerkvist A, Maurice C (2008) Stabilization of As, Cr, Cu,
Pb and Zn in soil using amendments—a review. Waste Manag
28(1):215–225
Lee SS, Lim JE, El-Azeem SAMA, Choi B, Oh S-E, Moon DH, Ok YS
(2013) Heavy metal immobilization in soil near abandoned mines
using eggshell waste and rapeseed residue. Environ Sci Pollut Res
20:1719–1726
Li K, Fu S, Zhan H, Zhan Y, Lucia L (2010) Analysis of the chemical
composition and morphological structure of banana pseudo-stem.
BioResources 5(2):576–585
Li P, Wang X, Zhang T, Zhou D, He Y (2008) Effects of several
amendments on rice growth and uptake of copper and cadmium
from a contaminated soil. J Environ Sci 20(4):449–455
Ma R, Zong Y, Lu S (2012) Reducing bioavailability and leachability of
copper in soils using coal fly ash, apatite, and bentonite. Commun
Soil Sci Plant Anal 43(15):2004–2017
Noeline B, Manohar D, Anirudhan T (2005) Kinetic and equilibrium
modelling of lead (II) sorption from water and wastewater by
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2015) 22:223–230
polymerized banana stem in a batch reactor. Sep Purif Technol
45(2):131–140
Ok YS, Lee SS, Jeon W-T, Oh S-E, Usman AR, Moon DH (2011)
Application of eggshell waste for the immobilization of cadmium
and lead in a contaminated soil. Environ Geochem Health 33(1):31–39
Park JH, Lamb D, Paneerselvam P, Choppala G, Bolan N, Chung J-W
(2011) Role of organic amendments on enhanced bioremediation of
heavy metal (loid) contaminated soils. J Hazard Mater 185(2):549–
574
Ruttens A, Adriaensen K, Meers E, De Vocht A, Geebelen W, Carleer R,
Mench M, Vangronsveld J (2010) Long-term sustainability of metal
immobilization by soil amendments: cyclonic ashes versus lime
addition. Environ Pollut 158(5):1428–1434
Schwab P, Zhu D, Banks MK (2007) Heavy metal leaching from mine
tailings as affected by organic amendments. Bioresour Technol
98(15):2935–2941
Sneddon IR, Orueetxebarria M, Hodson ME, Schofield PF, Valsami-Jones
E (2006) Use of bone meal amendments to immobilise Pb, Zn and
Cd in soil: a leaching column study. Environ Pollut 144(3):816–825
Tessier A, Campbel PGC, Bisson M (1979) Sequential extraction proce-
dure for the speciation of Particulate trace metals. Anal Chem 51(7):
844–851
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1997) Recent developments for
in situ treatment of metal contaminated soils. Solid waste and
emergency response (20460), Washington D.C.
Zhang M-K, Liu Z-Y, Wang H (2010) Use of single extraction methods to
predict bioavailability of heavy metals in polluted soils to rice.
Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 41(7):820–831
Zhao X-l, Masaihiko S (2007) Fractionation and solubility of cadmium in
paddy soils amended with porous hydrated calcium silicate. J
Environ Sci 19(3):343–347
Zhou Y, Haynes R, Naidu R (2012) Use of inorganic and organic wastes
for in situ immobilisation of Pb and Zn in a contaminated alkaline
soil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19(4):1260–1270