The mobility and deposition of sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) in soil porous media may be impacted by the presence of rhamnolipid (a typical biosurfactant), which is ubiquitous in the natural environment. Herein, the transport characteristics of various SAs, such as sulfamerazine (SMZ), sulfamethazine (SMT), and sulfanilamide (SNM) in soil columns with rhamnolipid, were explored. The mobility of SAs in the soil columns was in the sequence of SNM > SMT > SMZ. The observation was mainly due to the differences in the hydrophobic properties of various antibiotics. Interestingly, rhamnolipid inhibited the mobility of the three SAs over a broad solution pH range (5.0–9.0) primarily because of the interactions between the hydrophobic groups of the deposited rhamnolipid on the soil surfaces and parts of SAs molecules (i.e., rhamnolipid acted as a bridging agent between soil and antibiotic). Furthermore, at a given rhamnolipid concentration, the inhibitory effect of rhamnolipid on SMZ transport was the greatest among the three antibiotics due to SMZ’s greatest hydrophobicity . Additionally, the transport-inhibition influence of rhamnolipid declined as the solution pH values rose. This phenomenon was attributed to the decline of the bridge effects induced by the decreased adsorbed rhamnolipid on soil surfaces. Innovative findings from this study provide helpful information regarding the contribution of biosurfactants on the environmental behaviors of these ubiquitous antibiotic contaminants in soil-water systems.
Slow-release fertilizers show great promise for advancing agricultural sustainability by enhancing nutrient efficiency and mitigating environmental impacts. Herein, we propose an approach that embeds chitosan hydrogel membranes with metal-modified biochars to encapsulate N-P-K compound fertilizers, referred to as CS-MBC-SRFs. Our results demonstrate that CS-MBC-SRFs exhibit superior slow-release performance for N, P, and K compared to others (commercial NPK compound fertilizers, chitosan-coated, and biochar-embedded chitosan-coated fertilizers). Over a 33-day soil column test, CS-MBC-SRFs showed cumulative leaching ratios of <8.93 % for N, 18.4 % for P, and 14.4 % for K. Incorporating metal-modified biochar into the chitosan hydrogel membrane significantly enhances its swelling and mechanical properties while maintaining biodegradability and water-retention capacity. Mechanistic investigations reveal that nutrient release from CS-MBC-SRFs primarily occurs via diffusion through the hydrogel membrane, with the metal-modified biochar surface enhancing nutrient adsorption and delaying release. Additionally, the metal-modified biochars improved swelling and mechanical properties of the chitosan hydrogel membrane, significantly reducing nutrient diffusion. Pot tests demonstrated that CS-MBC-SRFs effectively promoted chili plant growth, ensuring high N-P-K utilization and improving chili fruit nutritional indices. Economic analysis further highlights the promising application prospects of CS-MBC-SRFs.