Assessing the feasibility of land application of fly ash, sewage sludge and their mixtures

Land disposal of fly ash (FA) and sewage sludge (SS) is a major problem due largely to their potentially harmful constituents. Combined use of FA and SS however may help reduce the associated pollution potential. In this paper we summarize the results of several case studies designed to assess the feasibility of land application of FA with and without SS. A wide range of application rates was tested under laboratory, greenhouse and field conditions. The leaching of metals from soil columns amended with moderate rates of FA applications (8-16 Mg ha⁻¹) generally had no significant impact on the metal content of leachate or their downward migration in the soil. The application of FA or SS at a much high rate (74.1 Mg ha⁻¹) significantly increased both leaching and downward migration of metals. The use of 1:1 FA+SS mixture at 148.2 Mg ha⁻¹ reduced metal leaching compared to the combined metal quantities leached when FA or SS applied at 74.1 Mg ha⁻¹. The results indicate that combined use of FA and SS at a rational rate of application should not cause any significant effect on drainage water quality. Plant studies conducted using FA and SS mixtures indicated that these materials could be beneficial for biomass production, without contributing significant metal uptake or leaching. The application of FA as high as 560 Mg ha⁻¹ in a long-term field trial had no detectable deterioration in soil or groundwater quality and no substantial increases in plant uptake of metals and other trace elements were observed. Low to moderate rates of FA and SS therefore could be successfully used as soil amendments, particularly so when used as a mixture.     

Groundwater arsenic removal by coagulation using ferric(III) sulfate and polyferric sulfate: A comparative and mechanistic study

Elevated arsenic (As) in groundwater poses a great threat to human health. Coagulation using mono- and poly-Fe salts is becoming one of the most cost-effective processes for groundwater As removal. However, a limitation comes from insufficient understanding of the As removal mechanism from groundwater matrices in the coagulation process, which is critical for groundwater treatment and residual solid disposal. Here, we overcame this hurdle by utilizing microscopic techniques to explore molecular As surface complexes on the freshly formed Fe flocs and compared ferric(III) sulfate (FS) and polyferric sulfate (PFS) performance, and finally provided a practical solution in As-geogenic areas. FS and PFS exhibited a similar As removal efficiency in coagulation and coagulation/filtration in a two-bucket system using 5 mg/L Ca(ClO)₂. By using the two-bucket system combining coagulation and sand filtration, 500 L of As-safe water (< 10 μg/L) was achieved during five treatment cycles by washing the sand layer after each cycle. Fe k-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and As k-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis of the solid residue indicated that As formed a bidentate binuclear complex on ferrihydrite, with no observation of scorodite or poorly-crystalline ferric arsenate. Such a stable surface complex is beneficial for As immobilization in the solid residue, as confirmed by the achievement of much lower leachate As (0.9 μg/L–0.487 mg/L) than the US EPA regulatory limit (5 mg/L). Finally, PFS is superior to FS because of its lower dose, much lower solid residue, and lower cost for As-safe drinking water.     

Mercury leaching characteristics of waste treatment residues generated from various sources in Korea

In this study, mercury (Hg) leaching characteristics of the waste treatment residues (fly ash, bottom ash, sludge, and phosphor powder) generated from various sources (municipal, industrial, medical waste incinerators, sewage sludge incinerator, oil refinery, coal-fired power plant, steel manufacturing plant, fluorescent lamp recycler, and cement kiln) in Korea were investigated. First, both Hg content analysis and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) testing was conducted for 31 collected residue samples. The Hg content analysis showed that fly ash from waste incinerators contained more Hg than the other residue samples. However, the TCLP values of fly ash samples with similar Hg content varied widely based on the residue type. Fly ash samples with low and high Hg leaching ratios (R_L) were further analyzed to identify the major factors that influence the Hg leaching potential. Buffering capacity of the low-R_L fly ash was higher than that of the high-R_L fly ash. The Hg speciation results suggest that the low-R_L fly ashes consisted primarily of low-solubility Hg compounds (Hg₂Cl₂, Hg⁰ or HgS), whereas the high-R_L fly ashes contain more than 20% high-solubility Hg compounds (HgCl₂ or HgSO₄).     

钡渣中钡离子的淋溶释放规律

采用静态浸渣正交实验和动态淋溶实验 ,研究了钡渣中钡离子的淋溶释放规律。结果表明 ,在 p H为 5 .6、固液比 1∶ 7、浸取时间 60 min时 ,静态最大浸出率达到 92 .8% ,Ba2 + 的浸出浓度为 42 680 mg/L。动态淋溶释放规律 :淋溶初期当液固比 x<5时呈二次多项式 ,x >5后符合指数衰减模型 C=C0 ·Ψ· e- bx ,p H为 2 .6、5 .6时的模拟雨水下最大 Ba2 +淋溶浓度分别出现在 x为4.0、3 .76处。     

输卤管道卤水漏失对地下水的影响分析

通过卤水对土壤的淋滤试验，模拟卤水管道发生漏失事故时，盐分在土壤和地下水中的迁移转化规律，为卤水漏失对地下水的影响提供定量依据。对正在开发之中的叶县盐田的环境管理具有一定的指导意义．     

A stochastic model of urinary nitrogen and water flow in grassland soil in New Zealand

A mathematical model of urinary nitrogen and water flow in soil has been developed that incorporated stochastic rainfall and stochastic temperature events. This model was used to characterise the variability in urine patch nitrogen leaching at Taupo, New Zealand. This stochastic model was also used to more accurately determine the effect of urinary patch overlap on cow urinary nitrogen flow and leaching in soil. Nitrogen leaching from single urine deposits on pasture in the winter ranged from 0 to 75% of applied nitrogen as a result of stochastic rainfall events. Rainfall effects explained 98% of the variance in nitrogen leaching due to stochastic rainfall and temperature effects combined. The model predicted that on average 38, 61, and 71% of the nitrogen in single, double and triple urine patches is leached in the winter. Nitrogen leaching rates were significantly greater in the winter than the summer months. The distribution in the amount of nitrogen leached from single urine patches was close to normal in the winter but approximately exponentially distributed in the summer. The variability in total nitrogen leached from a field also decreased as the stocking rate increased. A quantitative modelling framework is crucial for understanding nitrogen transport in pastoral systems and for effectively setting and enforcing restrictions imposed by regulatory bodies on nitrogen losses from pastoral farming and this study represents a component of this framework.     

Evaluation of the use of a sequential extraction procedure for the characterization and treatment of metal containing solid waste

Metal containing wastes like MSWI fly ashes and blast furnace sludge form a major environmental problem as they are polluted with heavy metals. The ash has to be landfilled or can be used as a construction material, but a pretreatment is in general necessary. Washing of the ashes with water in order to dissolve soluble salts or extracting the heavy metals with chemicals are possibilities. Blast furnace sludge contains large quantities of iron and carbon and could be recycled in the blast furnace, if the zinc content were not that high. Using a hydrometallurgical process the zinc can be removed from the sludge particles. In order to evaluate such treatment methods knowledge of the leaching behaviour of the studied material is very important. One of the factors influencing the leaching behaviour is the composition and mineralogy of the solids. A sequential extraction procedure, whereby the material is sequentially leached with different leaching solutions, can be used as an aid to characterize the material and to determine which chemical conditions are needed to obtain a sufficient extraction efficiency. To verify the accuracy of the sequential extraction procedure, a method is tested on MSWI fly ash and evaluated by comparing the results with those of leaching experiments whereby the final pH of the leaching solutions is varied over a wide range. Based upon this evaluation some suggestions for the use of the sequential extraction procedure are made and an adapted procedure is suggested, and applied to a blast furnace sludge.     

Effect of fertilization and irrigation schedule on water and fertilizer solute transport for wheat crop in a sub-humid sub-tropical region

In order to increase the water and fertilizer use efficiency and decrease the losses of water and fertilizer solutes (N and P), it is necessary to assess the influence of level of fertilization and irrigation schedule on movement and balance of water and fertilizers in the root zone. With this goal, the reported study was undertaken to determine the effect of fertilization and irrigation schedule on water movement and fertilizer solute transport in wheat crop field in a sub-tropical sub-humid region. Field experiments were conducted on wheat crop of cultivar Sonalika (Triticum aestivum L.) during the years 2002–2003, 2003–2004 and 2004–2005. Each experiment consisted of four fertilizer treatments and three irrigation treatments during the wheat growth period. During the experiment, the irrigation treatments were: I₁ = 10% maximum allowable depletion (MAD) of available soil water (ASW); I₂ = 40% MAD of ASW; I₃ = 60% MAD of ASW. The fertilizer treatments during the experiment were: F₁ = control treatment with N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 0:0:0 kg ha⁻¹; F₂ = fertilizer application of N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 80:40:40 kg ha⁻¹; F₃ = fertilizer application of N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 120:60:60 kg ha⁻¹ and F₄ = fertilizer application of N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 160:80:80 kg ha⁻¹. The results of the investigation revealed that low volume high frequency irrigation results in higher deep percolation losses than the low frequency high volume irrigation with different levels of fertilization for wheat crop in coarse lateritic soil, whereas different levels of fertilization did not significantly affect soil water balance of the wheat crop root zone during all the irrigation schedules. Level of fertilization and irrigation schedule had significant effect on nitrogen leaching loss whereas irrigation schedules had no significant effect on nitrogen uptake under different levels of fertilization. On the other hand, the leaching loss of phosphorus was not significantly influenced by the irrigation schedule and level of fertilization of wheat crop. This indicated that PO₄–P leaching loss was very low in the soil solution as compared to nitrogen due to fixation of phosphorus in soils. From the observed data of nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency, it was revealed that irrigation schedule with 40% maximum allowable depletion of available soil water with F₂ fertilizer treatment (N:P₂O₅:K₂O as 80:40:40 kg ha⁻¹) was the threshold limit for wheat crop with respect to nitrogen and phosphorus use, crop yield and environmental pollution.     

Importance of indirect nitrous oxide emissions at the field, farm and catchment scale

Direct and indirect nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions and leaching losses from an intensively managed grazed pasture in the Ythan catchment, Aberdeenshire, UK, were measured and compared over a 17-month period. Simultaneous measurements of farm-wide leaching losses of N₂O were also made and catchment-wide fluxes were estimated from existing N leaching data. The relative importance of direct and indirect N₂O fluxes at the field, farm and catchment scale was then assessed. At the field scale we found that direct N₂O emissions were low (1.2 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, 0.6% of N input) with indirect N₂O emissions via drainage waters comprising a significant proportion (25%) of total N₂O emissions. At the whole-farm scale, the N₂O-N emission factor (0.003) for leached NO₃-N (EF_5-g) was in line with the IPCC's recent downward revision. At the catchment scale, a direct N₂O flux of 1.9 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ and an indirect flux of 0.06 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ were estimated. This study lends further support to the recent downward revision of the IPCC emission factor for N₂O arising from leached N in surface and ground waters (EF_5-g) and highlights the need for multiple point sampling to ensure that the importance of indirect N₂O losses via drainage waters is not misrepresented at the farm and catchment scales.     

An overview for the utilization of wastes from stainless steel industries

Significant quantities of wastes are generated as the waste materials or byproducts every day from stainless steel processes. According to the origins and characteristics, the stainless steel wastes can be mainly classified into two categories, slags and dusts. They usually contained considerable quantities of valuable metals and materials. This paper summarized and analyzed the generation, composition, characteristics and the leaching behaviors of the most of wastes obtained from the stainless steel processes. On this basis, a review of several methods for treating the various stainless steel wastes was made. It is very essential not only for recycling the valuable metals and mineral resources but also for protecting the environment.