Eco-Friendly Starch-Montmorillonite Hydrochar for Quinclorac Detoxification in Soil: Synthesis, Mechanisms and Application.

Authors

Xiaoqing Zhen, Yihui Zhang, Huan Yi, Qiongfeng Liu, Lamei Wu, Guolan Ma, Chunxia Ding, Lianyang Bai, Yuan Chen, Xiangying Liu

Published in

Environmental research. Pages 125727. Sep 20, 2026. Epub Sep 20, 2026.

Abstract

Quinclorac (QNC) is an excellent rice herbicide with a soil half-life up to 540 d, causing persistent soil contamination and phytotoxicity in rotational crops such as tobacco. Although peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-based advanced oxidation processes can degrade QNC, existing non-hydrothermal carbon materials for PMS activation face limitations including high energy costs, metal leaching risks, and poor catalyst stability. Moreover, no previous study has provided a systematic framework, ranging from clay-mineral hydrochar composite design, and mechanistic elucidation to field validation, for the effective detoxification of QNC-contaminated soils. Here, we synthesized a starch-montmorillonite hydrochar composite (CWSH2@MMT), not previously reported for PMS activation, via hydrothermal carbonization. The system achieved 88.36% QNC removal from soil within 12 h. Quenching experiments, ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS) analysis combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed two degradation pathways of QNC driven by ^•OH, SO₄^•-, and O₂^•- radicals. Toxicity assessments by T.E.S.T. and ECOSAR program together with pot experiments confirmed that detected intermediates are less toxic than parent QNC. Critically, unlike lab-only studies, we conducted field trials in tobacco. The CWSH2@MMT/PMS system alleviated QNC-induced phytotoxicity, recovering leaf length, leaf width, and plant height by > 80% with improved yield and quality. This offers a green, efficient, and practical detoxification strategy for addressing soil pollution from herbicide residues.

PMID:
42764051
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 21 Sep 2026.

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