The advancement of green energy batteries as alternative energy sources is crucial for addressing the issues posed by hazardous chemicals and their disposal, thereby mitigating environmental damage caused by direct or indirect impacts of pollution. Recently, novel Earth Battery Systems (EBS) have been investigated, utilizing various types of soils, compost, and electrodes, with water as a fixed electrolyte. In this study, EBS are characterized using multiple techniques, including Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Our findings reveal that, compared to soil-based earth batteries - which exhibit high impedance values, the open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Isc) are significantly enhanced in vermi-compost-based earth batteries fabricated using steel-201 as the anode and graphite as the cathode. Furthermore, the critical role of organic matter in promoting ion transport and enhancing the system's overall efficiency is demonstrated through Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Ionic conductivity analysis. To ensure the sustainability of electrodes within the earth battery, corrosion studies are conducted using Tafel analysis. The results indicate that electrode corrosion can be effectively controlled by the strategic selection of corrosion inhibitors. Thus, this work lays the foundation for developing efficient, durable, and environmentally friendly EBS systems using soil and compost.

Highly acidic citrus pomace (CP) is a byproduct of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae production and causes significant environmental damage. In this study, a newly isolated acid-tolerant strain of Serratia sp. JS-043 was used to treat CP and evaluate the effect of reduced acid citrus pomace (RACP) in passivating heavy metals. The results showed that biological treatment could remove 97.56% of citric acid in CP, the organic matter in the soil increased by 202.60% and the catalase activity in the soil increased from 0 to 0.117 U g(-1). Adding RACP into soil can increase the stabilization of Cu, Zn, As, Co, and Pb. Specifically, through the metabolism of strain JS-043, RACP was also involved in the stabilization of Zn and Pb, and Residual Fraction in the total pool of these metals increased by 10.73% and 10.54%, respectively. Finally, the genome sequence of Serratia sp. JS-043 was completed, and the genetic basis of its acid-resistant and acid-reducing characteristics was preliminarily revealed. JS-043 also contains many genes encoding proteins associated with heavy metal ion tolerance and transport. These findings suggest that JS-043 may be a high-potential strain to improve the quality of acidic organic wastes that can then be useful for soil bioremediation.

Cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous heavy metal that threaten fruit safety and soil quality. The remediated effects of wheat straw and fruit pruning branch, with or without Bacillus niescheri, on the physiology and transcriptome of Diospyros lotus L., and soil bio-chemical properties in Cd condition were assessed in this study. Wheat straw and persimmon branch residue addition decreased the Cd availability in soil and Cd accumulation in tissues and alleviated oxidative damage caused by Cd as exhibited by the reduced O2 center dot- , H2O2 and malondialdehyde contents in roots of D. lotus, especially following B. niescheri inoculation. Different expressed genes of ion uptake and translocation were mostly downregulated, whereas cell wall formation/modifications, amino acid metabolism, and phytohormone biosynthesis in roots were upregulated by organic matter plus B. niescheri. Furthermore, organic matter plus B. niescheri improved soil pH, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, enzyme activity (urease, dehydrogenase, catalase), nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) and organic carbon contents. Soil Cd availability was negatively correlated with the relative abundance of Bacteroides, Cellvibrio, Bacillus, Sphingomonas, Vicinamibacteraceae, and Faecalibacterium. Therefore, the organic waste such as wheat straw and branch residues are eco-friendly methods of remediating Cd-contaminated soil and mitigating toxicity for D. lotus, especially following B. niescheri inoculation.

During the last 40-50 years, the surface of the eroded soils of the Republic of Moldova increased by approximate 284 thousand ha, or annually by 7 thousand ha. The annual damage caused by erosion is estimated at 200 million US dollars. The problem of restoring the fertility of soils degraded by erosion under current farming conditions can be solved by using local organic fertilizers, which can serve to maintain and increase soil fertility, and not as environmental pollutants, which occurs in most cases. Being used as organic fertilizers, they increase the productivity of agricultural crops by 30-40%, reduce the humus deficit by an increase of 150-200 kg/t. Organic fertilizers applied to eroded common chernozem improve the quality of the structure and the aero-hydric regime of the soil. The use of local organic fertilizers also has a positive impact due to the fact that they are directed to study and applied according to the recommendations for their integrated exploitation in agriculture where they have origins.