Improving sustainability in the remediation of contaminated soils by the use of compost and energy valorization by Paulownia fortunei

Abstract

The plantation of fast growing trees in contaminated sites, in combination with the use of organic wastes, could partially solve a dual environmental problem: the disposal of these wastes and the improvement of soil quality in these degraded soils. This study evaluated the effects of two composts amendments on the quantity and quality of Paulownia fortunei biomass and on syngas production by biomass gasification, produced by plants growing on trace elements contaminated soils. Compost increased biomass production to values similar to those produced in non-contaminated soils, due to the improvement in plant nutritional status. Moreover, biomass quality for gasification was increased by compost addition. Trace element accumulation in the biomass was relatively low and not related to biomass production or the gas quality obtained through gasification. Thus, P. fortunei plantations could pose an opportunity to Preprint submitted to Elsevier 2 improve the economic balance of the revegetation of contaminated soils, given that other commercial uses such as food or fodder crop production is not recommended in these soils.

Novel energy crops for Mediterranean contaminated lands: Valorization of Dittrichia viscosa and Silybum marianum biomass by pyrolysis

“…For S. marianum, differences in pyrolysis gases between soil types were neither observed (Table 1). We could have expected a significant increase in H 2 concentrations in the gas obtained from biomass produced in the neutral soil (more favorable for plant growth), as found in a previous work with Paulownia fortuneii biomass obtained from the same experimental soils (Madejón et al, 2016). However, in that work differences in plant growth and status between soil types were larger than those detected for D. viscosa and S. marianum in this study.…”

“…With this, we aimed to evaluate whether the quality of D. viscosa and S. marianum biomass for syngas production through pyrolysis could be substantially influenced by soil conditions during plant growth. As reported for other conversion technologies, such as gasification, soil contamination might result in a lower quality of biomass for biofuel production, by affecting plant chemical composition (Madejón et al, 2016). Analyzing the behavior of the biomass of these species during thermo-chemical conversion is essential for a complete characterization of their potential as bioenergy crops.…”

Effect of precursors combined with bacteria communities on the formation of humic substances during different materials composting

“…Compulsory ventilation was at the rate of 0.5 L min -1 . The whole time of the experiment was conducted 50 days and the samples collected on day 0, 8,16,20,24,28,32,38,44 and 50. Six subsamples were removed from six sites of the entire profile spanning the whole profile (from top to bottom).…”

The Prospect of the Use of Energy Crops for Biological Reclamation of Disturbed Lands

“…After cutting it is restored for three years. Paulownia has a high coefficient of fixation of carbon [31,32]. It can be used for the reclamation of disturbed lands [33].…”