Reclamation of cadmium-contaminated soil using dissolved organic matter solution originating from wine-processing waste sludge

► Increases in acidity, washing frequency, and operational temperature enhance the Cd removal. ► Approximately 80% of Cd can be removed from the soil by dissolved organic matter (DOM) washing. ► The DOM washing can moderate the loss of soil fertility. ► The DOM washing will have a great improvement if we employ NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2, and Mg(OH)2 to prepare the DOM solution together. Soil washing using an acid solution is a common practice for removing heavy metals from contaminated soil in Taiwan. However, serious loss of nutrients from soil is a major drawback of the washing. Distillery sludge can be used to prepare a dissolved organic matter (DOM) solution by extracting its organic constituents with alkaline solutions. This study employed DOM solutions to remediate Cd-contaminated soil (with concentrations up to 21.5mgkg−1) and determine the factors affecting removal of Cd, such as pH, initial concentration of DOM solution, temperature, and washing frequency. When washing with pH 3.0 and 1250mgL−1 DOM solution, about 80% and 81% of Cd were removed from the topsoil at 27°C and subsoil at 40°C, respectively. To summarize the changes in fertility during DOM washing with various pH solutions: the increase in organic matter content ranged from 7.7% to 23.7%; cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from 4.6% to 13.9%; available ammonium (NNH4) content ranged from 39.4% to 2175%; and available phosphorus content ranged from 34.5% to 182%. Exchangeable K, Ca, and Mg remained in the topsoil after DOM washing, with concentrations of 1.1, 2.4, and 1.5 times higher than those treated with HCl solution at the same pH, respectively.