Phosphorus and cadmium availability in soil fertilized with biosolids and ashes

Kumpienė, Jūratė; Brännvall, Evelina; Wolters, Martin; Skoglund, Nils; Čirba, Stasys; Aksamitauskas, Vladislovas Česlovas

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.02.069

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The P concentration in ashes from laboratory and industrial scale co-combustion of MSS with biomass or residues indicates that the formed bottom ashes are suitable either for further refinement or possibly for direct application as fertilizer. The phosphates formed during co-combustion are dominated by the mixed cation whitlockite and merrillite structures, which exhibits shown suitable properties with respect to plant availability [27]. There are few reports on the plant availability of complex mineral phosphates, but altering pure Ca-whitlockite (Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ) by inclusion of Na in its structures has been shown to improve plant availability [41].…”

Section: Fertilizer Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-Combustion of Municipal Sewage Sludge and Biomass in a Grate Fired Boiler for Phosphorus Recovery in Bottom Ash

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Phosphorus has been identified as a critical element by the European Union and recycling efforts are increasingly common. An important phosphorus-containing waste stream for recycling is municipal sewage sludge (MSS), which is used directly as fertilizer to farmland. However, it contains pollutants such as heavy metals, pharmaceutical residues, polychlorinated bi-phenyls (PCBs) and nano-plastics. The interest in combustion of MSS is continuously growing, as it both reduces the volume as well as destroys the organic materials and could separate certain heavy metals from the produced ashes. This results in ashes with a potential for either direct use as fertilizer or as a suitable feedstock for upgrading processes. The aim of this study was to investigate co-combustion of MSS and biomass to create a phosphorus-rich bottom ash with a low heavy metal content. A laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor in addition to an 8 MWth grate-boiler was used for the experimental work. The concentration of phosphorus and selected heavy metals in the bottom ashes were compared to European Union regulation on fertilizers, ash application to Swedish forests and Swedish regulations on sewage sludge application to farmland. Element concentrations were determined by ICP-AES complemented by analysis of spatial distribution with SEM-EDS and XRD analysis to determine crystalline compounds. The results show that most of the phosphorus was retained in the bottom ash, corresponding to 9-16 wt.% P 2 O 5 , while the concentration of cadmium, mercury, lead and zinc was below the limits of the regulations. However, copper, chromium and nickel concentrations exceeded these standards.

show abstract

Section: Fertilizer Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-Combustion of Municipal Sewage Sludge and Biomass in a Grate Fired Boiler for Phosphorus Recovery in Bottom Ash

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…and Switzerland has passed a law requiring P to be recovered from P-rich waste, such as wastewater, within the next 10 years (VVEA, 2016). However, depending on the sources and the fertilizer production processes used, such fertilizers may still contain large amounts of potentially toxic trace elements (Kratz et al, 2016;Kumpiene et al, 2016). Further research into the production of sustainable recycled P fertilizers containing low concentrations of pollutants is required.…”

Section: Measures To Decrease CD and U Inputs In Fertilizersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accumulation of cadmium and uranium in arable soils in Switzerland

Bigalke

Ulrich

Rehmus

et al. 2017

Environmental Pollution

191

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mineral phosphorus (P) fertilizers contain contaminants that are potentially hazardous to humans and the environment. Frequent mineral P fertilizer applications can cause heavy metals to accumulate and reach undesirable concentrations in agricultural soils. There is particular concern about Cadmium (Cd) and Uranium (U) accumulation because these metals are toxic and can endanger soil fertility, leach into groundwater, and be taken up by crops. We determined total Cd and U concentrations in more than 400 topsoil and subsoil samples obtained from 216 agricultural sites across Switzerland. We also investigated temporal changes in Cd and U concentrations since 1985 in soil at six selected Swiss national soil monitoring network sites. The mean U concentrations were 16% higher in arable topsoil than in grassland topsoil. The Cd concentrations in arable and grassland soils did not differ, which we attribute to soil management practices and Cd sources other than mineral P fertilizers masking Cd inputs from mineral P fertilizers. The mean Cd and U concentrations were 58% and 9% higher, respectively, in arable topsoil than in arable subsoil, indicating that significant Cd and U inputs to arable soils occurred in the past. Geochemical mass balances confirmed this, indicating an accumulation of 52% for Cd and 6% for U. Only minor temporal changes were found in the Cd concentrations in topsoil from the six soil-monitoring sites, but U concentrations in topsoil from three sites had significantly increased since 1985. Sewage sludge and atmospheric deposition were previously important sources of Cd to agricultural soils, but today mineral P fertilizers are the dominant sources of Cd and U. Future Cd and U inputs to agricultural soils may be reduced by using optimized management practices, establishing U threshold values for mineral P fertilizers and soils, effectively enforcing threshold values, and developing and using clean recycled P fertilizers.

show abstract

“…The composition and the spectra comparison reveal some remarkable aspects: the relevant presence of phosphorus and even of potassium indicates that ashes can be used as P-K source for fertilizers [19]. In fact, as suggested by Kompiene et al [19], ashes produced after the combustion of bio-fuels are often rich in P and in K, valuable nutrients for plants growth. It is therefore possible to imagine an exploitation of the ashes for agricultural uses.…”

Section: Clinker and Ashes Analysismentioning

confidence: 94%

By-products of wheat milling process as fuel for biomass boilers and stoves

Pedrazzi¹,

Allesina²,

Tartarini³

2018

TI-IJES

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This work aims at experimentally testing wheat milling by-products (bran, fine bran and middlings) as fuel into a biomass fired hot air generator, with the final purpose of demonstrating the advantages of selling these goods to the energy market. The by-products were pelletized and the thermal efficiency of the generator was assessed for each type of pellets including 'EN A1 plus' wood pellets for comparison. Results show a small decrease of performance of the generator using the by-products pellets with respect to wood pellets. In addition, combustion instability given by the clinkering phenomenon was recognized using middlings pellets. ESEM technology was applied to bran pellets ashes in order to evaluate ashes composition and discuss possible application as soil fertilizer. Finally, an economic comparison between by-products sale as fuel and as animal feed demonstrated that it is more convenient to sell these biomasses as fuel considering the actual market situation.

show abstract

Phosphorus and cadmium availability in soil fertilized with biosolids and ashes

Cited by 21 publications

References 14 publications

Co-Combustion of Municipal Sewage Sludge and Biomass in a Grate Fired Boiler for Phosphorus Recovery in Bottom Ash

Co-Combustion of Municipal Sewage Sludge and Biomass in a Grate Fired Boiler for Phosphorus Recovery in Bottom Ash

Accumulation of cadmium and uranium in arable soils in Switzerland

By-products of wheat milling process as fuel for biomass boilers and stoves

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About