The potential effectiveness of mixed bacteria-loaded biochar/activated carbon to remediate Cd, Pb co-contaminated soil and improve the performance of pakchoi plants

Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are toxic heavy metals that cause severe soil pollution and pose health risks to humans. It is urgent to develop feasible strategies for Pb and Cd remediation. In this study, a bacteria consortium (Enterobacter asburiae G3, Enterobacter tabaci I12 and Klebsiella variicola J2 in a 1:3:3 proportion) with optimal Cd, Pb adsorption ability was constructed and immobilized on biochar (BC)/activated carbon (AC) via physisorption and sodium alginate encapsulation. The effects of mixed bacteria-loaded BC/AC on Cd and Pb remediation were investigated. The results indicated that their application reduced the DTPA-extractable Cd, Pb in soil by 22.05%−55.84% and 31.64%−48.13%, respectively. The residual Pb, Cd were increased while the exchangeable fractions were decreased. Soil urease, catalase and phosphatase activities were enhanced and soil bacterial community was improved, indicating a soil quality improvement. Consequently, the biomass of pakchoi plants was significantly increased. Cd and Pb in the shoots of pakchoi plants were decreased by 28.68%−51.01% and 24.18%−52.87%, respectively. Collectively, the bacteria-loaded BC/AC showed superior performance than free bacteria, BC and AC alone. Our study may provide a better understanding of the development of green and sustainable materials for remediation of heavy metal by the combination of BC/AC and functional bacteria.