Effect of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin on diuron desorption and mineralisation in soils

PURPOSE: The herbicide diuron has the unfortunate property of being strongly adsorbed onto soil organic matter particles, and hence, is slowly degraded in the environment because of its reduced bioavailability. The aim of this work was to gain insight into the fate and behaviour of diuron in the soil–water system, and develop and test an environmentally friendly soil decontamination technique that could give rise to an enhancement of diuron mineralisation by sensitive soil endogenous microorganisms, by means of increasing the bioavailability of the pollutant employing cyclodextrin (CD) solutions what would represent an improvement from both economic and environmental standpoints. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Selected soil colloidal components: montmorillonite, a synthetic humic acid and a synthetic acicular goethite, and two different soils were employed in this study to perform batch adsorption–desorption experiments. Desorption experiments were performed using a 0.01 M Ca(NO₃)₂ solution with and without hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) 50 mM. Assays to study the mineralisation of ¹⁴C-labelled diuron were performed in respirometers, into which 10 g of soil and 50 mL of mineral salts medium (MMK) were placed, obtaining a final concentration of 50 mg kg⁻¹ and a radioactivity of approximately 900 Bq per flask. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Humic acid could be clearly discerned as the major colloidal component responsible for adsorption. HPBCD was used in diuron desorption experiments from soil, showing a strong extracting power on its removal. The mineralisation of diuron in the presence and absence of HPBCD was tested in a soil managed with diuron for several years, involving therefore the presence of microorganisms that have some specificity for diuron. Natural soil attenuation for diuron was improved when a HPBCD solution was used in the presence of micronutrients as a bioavailability enhancer, obtaining 66 % of mineralisation in comparison to that obtained with only micronutrients addition (44 %). CONCLUSIONS: The use of HPBCD solution at a very low concentration of only 10 times the diuron equimolar concentration in soil, acts as a bioavailability enhancer, accelerating the passage of the diuron-desorbing fraction from the soil particle surface to the soil solution, and hence, improving the accessibility of the microorganisms to the herbicide. Diuron mineralisation rate and the extent of its mineralisation were improved when the HPBCD solution was employed in the presence of micronutrients.