The Effect of Polymeric Materials on Mobile Species of Heavy Metals in Modeling a Contamination of Zonal Agricultural Soil Types in Tula Oblast

In a model experiment, comparison of the effect of polymer sorbents of various origins on the content of mobile species of heavy metals (HM) was made in zonal soils of the East European Plain in a case study of soils of Tula Oblast. Both synthetic and natural sorbents were used, including hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile (HYPAN), potassium humate (humate “Sakhalinskii” (HS)), binary formulation (HYPAN + HS), and mycosorbent A (melanized fungal mycelium powder Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissl.). The experiment was conducted on four agricultural soil types; specifically, sod-podzolic sandy soils, gray forest soils, leached chernozems, and podzolized chernozems (Umbric Albeluvisols, Greyic Phaeozems, and Voronic Chernozems) sampled in Tula oblast in 2024 and contaminated with Cu+2, Zn+2, Pb+2, and Cd+2 salts (6 APL (approximate permissible limits)). It has been established that application of the same sorbent has a significantly different remediation effect on different soil types at the same level of metal contamination; that is, the amount of copper transferred to soil solution was from 30% in chernozems to 50% in gray forest soils (percent of introduced amount of the element in model contamination of the solution). With HYPAN application, the highest percent of the mobile species in relation to the total Pb form was observed in sod-podzolic soils (72%) and the lowest in chernozems (56%). Sorption of Cd and Zn was effectively influenced by application of mycosorbent A; that is, up to 70% in chernozems for Cd and up to 85% in sod-podzolic soils for Zn.