Xinhua News Agency — The Chinese Academy of Sciences has successfully developed a new material for soil remediation, with a cost of no more than 30 yuan per mu.

According to a Xinhua News Agency report, reporters learned from the Institute of Solid State Physics at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that experts there have developed a new type of nanocomposite material capable of efficiently capturing and transforming harmful heavy metal ions in acidic soils, with a cost of no more than 30 yuan per mu.

This research was recently published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, a flagship journal in the field of green chemistry under the American Chemical Society.

Approximately 30% of the world’s permafrost consists of acidic soils, which not only reduce agricultural yields but also mobilize heavy metal ions, exacerbating their adverse effects on human health and environmental pollution. This poses a critical challenge that urgently requires solutions in both China and globally across the agricultural and environmental sectors.

According to available information, the conventional approaches to soil remediation currently include phytoremediation and chemical remediation. However, these methods suffer from drawbacks such as high costs, long treatment durations, and low efficiency, and they address only the symptoms rather than the root causes. This limitation represents a key technical bottleneck hindering the effective management of acidic soils and heavy-metal contamination.

The research group led by Researcher Wu Zhengyan at the Institute of Technical Biology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed a composite nanomaterial that combines natural materials such as clay and biochar, transforming their aggregated state into a loose, network‑like structure. This material not only raises soil pH to near neutrality but also efficiently adsorbs and sequesters harmful heavy metals in the soil, while simultaneously converting hazardous species like hexavalent chromium into the less toxic trivalent chromium.

According to reports, this new soil‑remediation material costs only RMB 10 to 30 per mu, and its application can be seamlessly integrated into standard farming practices. Not only is it easy to use, but it also significantly outperforms conventional remediation methods in terms of efficiency. Moreover, it can be formulated into various forms, including powders, liquids, and granules. Experts note that the material holds great potential for widespread application and could enter mass production as early as next year.