Long-Term Effects of Hard Coal Fly Ash on Selected Soil Properties

Abstract

This research reports and analyzes results of a field experiment started in 1984, when hard coal fly ash (HCFA) was added to soil at doses of 0 to 800 Mg·ha -1. During the first years of the experiment, traditional crops were grown in the plots, which in 1992 were converted into permanent grassland. Twenty-nine years after the application of fly ash, soil samples from the 0-20 cm soil layer were collected to determine chemical properties of soil. The results showed an elevated soil reaction, and high contents of available forms of P, K, and Mg, plus mineral forms of nitrogen and high soil organic matter. Under increased ash doses, analysed soils increased the C:N ratio and shares of N-NO 3 and N-NH 4 in total nitrogen content. These results justify that fly ash from combustion of hard coal in a power plant can produce long-term impact on soil, contributing to a certain improvement of its chemical, physical, and biological properties, which stimulate the sequestration of carbon in soil.

The influence of changes in the structure of electric power generation on the management of energetic waste in Poland

“…Ashes can contain trace quantities of such elements as: Mn, B, Ba, Cu, Sr, Ni, Cr, Zn, Cd, Co, Mo, V, Se, Pb, As and others (0,1-0,3%) as well as radioactive elements 40 K, 226 Ra and 232 Th [7,8,[11][12][13][14]. Radioactive elements do not exceed concentration which would prevent the economic use of incineration by-products [5,14].…”

“…Radioactive elements do not exceed concentration which would prevent the economic use of incineration by-products [5,14].…”

“…In agriculture there is predominant use of fly ashes from hard coal [14,31]. They are used as calcium and magnesium fertilizers for soil fertilization [7,8,16,[31][32][33][34].…”

Conversion of Soil pH 1:2.5 KCl and 1:2.5 H2O to 1:5 H2O: Conclusions for Soil Management, Environmental Monitoring, and International Soil Databases

“…[17][18][19][20]. Changes in soil pH are considered a sensitive indicator of human impacts (from agriculture, industry, urbanization, and others), both as acidifi cation [21][22][23] and alkalization [24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. Soil pH is therefore involved in all soil-oriented studies, inventories, and databases [31][32][33][34], as well as in most environmental monitoring programs [35][36][37][38][39].…”

“…The answer is important for each farmer as it is related to the continuity of information about the soil state (e.g., fertility and acidity) and the results of management (e.g., liming). Also, it is important for all long-term monitoring series and remediation projects initiated under the previous standard and continued/fi nished under the new one [24,26,35].…”