Evaluation of in situ capping with clean soils to control phosphate release from sediments

Evaluation of in situ capping with clean soils to control phosphate release from the sediments of a eutrophic bay in Lake Taihu was performed after 18 months of capping. The concentrations of dissolved reactive phosphate (DRP) in pore waters and DRP resupply from native sediments and capped sediments were determined using high-resolution dialysis (HR-Peeper) and a Zr-oxide diffusive gradients in thin films (Zr-oxide DGT) technique. The adsorption isotherm of these sediments was further investigated using a modified Langmuir model. The results showed low concentrations of DRP in pore waters with a low resupply from the sediments for sustaining pore water DRP concentration after capping. The calculated flux to the overlying water following the capping treatment was approximately half of that for the native sediments, implying that the capping reduced the release of phosphate from the sediments. The low resupply of the sediments after capping was further demonstrated by larger partitioning coefficient (Kp) values and greater adsorption capacity (Qmax) values, while zero equilibrium concentrations (EPC0s) were similar to those in native sediments. The larger Kp and Qmax were attributed to higher active Fe and Al introduced by the capping, indicating that the binding of phosphate onto the active Fe and Al played a critical role in reducing the internal loading of phosphorous. Highlights: ► Evaluation of capping with soils was performed through high-resolution sampling. ► Capping decreased the concentrations of DRP in pore waters and its release to waters. ► Capping decreased the resupply of pore water DRP from the sediments. ► Capped sediments had stronger abilities to adsorb and retain P. ► Active Fe and Al introduced by capping played a critical role.