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Enhancing soil organic matter characteristics, ameliorating physical structure, mitigating heavy metal toxicity, and hastening mineral weathering processes are crucial approaches to accomplish the transition of tailings substrate to a soil-like substrate. The incorporation of biomass co-pyrolysis and plant colonization has been established to be a significant factor in soil substrate formation and soil pollutant remediation. Despite this, there is presently an absence of research efforts aimed at synergistically utilizing these two technologies to expedite the process of mining tailings soil substrate formation. The current study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanism of geochemical changes and rapid mineral weathering during the process of transforming tailings substrate into a soil-like substrate, under the combined effects of biomass co-smoldering pyrolysis and plant colonization. The findings of this study suggest that the incorporation of smoldering pyrolysis and plant colonization induces a high-temperature effect and biological effects, which enhance the physical and chemical properties of tailings, while simultaneously accelerating the rate of mineral weathering. Notable improvements include the amelioration of extreme pH levels, nutrient enrichment, the formation of aggregates, and an increase in enzyme activity, all of which collectively demonstrate the successful attainment of tailings substrate reconstruction. Evidence of the accelerated weathering was verified by phase and surface morphology analysis using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Discovered corrosion and fragmentation on the surface of minerals. The weathering resulted in corrosion and fragmentation of the surface of the treated mineral. This study confirms that co-smoldering pyrolysis of biomass, combined with plant colonization, can effectively promote the transformation of tailings into soil-like substrates. This method has can effectively address the key challenges that have previously hindered sustainable development of the mining industry and provides a novel approach for ecological restoration of tailings deposits.

With the increasing demand for water in hydroponic systems and agricultural irrigation, viral diseases have seriously affected the yield and quality of crops. By removing plant viruses in water environments, virus transmission can be prevented and agricultural production and ecosystems can be protected. But so far, there have been few reports on the removal of plant viruses in water environments. Herein, in this study, easily recyclable biomass-based carbon nanotubes catalysts were synthesized with varying metal activities to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS). Among them, the magnetic 0.125Fe@NCNTs-1/PMS system showed the best overall removal performance against pepper mild mottle virus, with a 5.9 log10 removal within 1 min. Notably, the key reactive species in the 0.125Fe@NCNTs-1/PMS system is 1O2, which can maintain good removal effect in real water matrices (river water and tap water). Through RNA fragment analyses and label free analysis, it was found that this system could effectively cleave virus particles, destroy viral proteins and expose their genome. The capsid protein of pepper mild mottle virus was effectively decomposed where serine may be the main attacking sites by 1O2. Long viral RNA fragments (3349 and 1642 nt) were cut into smaller fragments (∼160 nt) and caused their degradation. In summary, this study contributes to controlling the spread of plant viruses in real water environment, which will potentially help protect agricultural production and food safety, and improve the health and sustainability of ecosystems.