Converting loess into zeolite for heavy metal polluted soil remediation based on “soil for soil-remediation” strategy

Both soil erosion and soil contamination pose critical environmental threats to the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). Green, efficient and feasible remediation technologies are highly demanded to meet these challenges. Herein we propose a unique “soil for soil-remediation” strategy to remediate the heavy metal polluted soil in CLP by converting loess into zeolite for the first time. With a simple template-free route, the natural loess can be converted into cancrinite (CAN) type of zeolite. A highly crystalline CAN was obtained via hydrothermal treatment at 240 oC for 48 h, with a precursor alkalinity of Na/(Si+Al)> 2.0. The as-synthesized CAN zeolite exhibits excellent remediation performance for Pb(II) and Cu(II) polluted soil. Plant assay experiment demonstrates that CAN can significantly restrain the uptake and accumulation of Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions in vegetables, with a high removal efficiency up to 90.7% and 81.4%, respectively. This work demonstrates a “soil for soil-remediation” strategy to utilize the natural loess for soil remediation in CLP, which paves the way for developing green and sustainable remediation eco-materials with local loess as raw materials. [Display omitted] •CAN zeolite was successfully synthesized using natural loess for the first time.•CAN exhibited high feasibility in the remediation of heavy metal contaminated soil.•Up to 90.7% and 81.4% of Pb and Cu in vegetables was removed after CAN remediation.•Both ion exchange and chemical adsorption are responsible for remediation mechanism.