HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Francis, C. W. Articles by Goyert, J. C. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Francis, C. W. Articles by Goyert, J. C. Agricola Articles by Francis, C. W. Articles by Goyert, J. C.

Plant Uptake of Trace Elements from Coal Gasification Ashes¹

ABSTRACT

Uptake of trace elements in annual ryegrass (L. multiflorum Lam.) grown in mixtures of three gasification ashes and two soils under greenhouse conditions is reported. The gasification ashes selected were those produced in fluidized-, fixed-, and entrained-bed gasification processes. Soils consisted of a surface agricultural soil and a subsurface weathered shale. Plant uptake was evaluated under two management regimes, with and without lime and fertilizer amendments. Six harvests were made over 180 d. Ryegrass yields were highly dependent on application of lime and fertilizer regardless of quantity or type of ash in the soil-ash mixtures. Yields from unlimed/unfertilized treatments were low because of the limited supply of N, P, and K and phytotoxic levels of Al, Cd, Ni, and Zn. The entrained-bed ash contained a relative high S concentration (38 g/kg) that oxidized and made the soil-ash mixtures very acid (pH < 4). Ryegrass grown in unlimed/unfertilized soil-ash mixtures of this ash contained very high concentrations of Al, B, Cd, Co, Mo, Ni, and Zn (up to 2449, 97, 24, 38, 5, 532, and 1109 mg/kg, respectively). Many of these concentrations were considered to be phytotoxic and/or sufficiently high to be toxic to animals under continuous long-term grazing conditions. However, applications of the same gasifier ash to soils that were limed and fertilized with N, P, and K produced ryegrass that did not contain phytotoxic levels of any of the trace elements examined or concentrations that would be of concern in the transport of these metals along foodchains to man. Risk was related to soil pH, a factor that can be managed with proper liming and fertilizing practices.

Key Words: solid wastes • coal gasification ashes • trace elements • coal technology • land disposal

¹ Research sponsored by office of Energy Research, Office of Health & Environmental Research, Ecological Research Division, U.S. Dep. of Energy, under contract DE-AC05-84OR21400 with Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. Publication no. 2510, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831.

² Senior research scientist, research associate, and data management specialist currently with Science Associates Inc., Oak Ridge, TN 37830.

Received for publication September 25, 1984.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Mozaffari, M. P. Russelle, C. J. Rosen, and E. A. Nater Nutrient Supply and Neutralizing Value of Alfalfa Stem Gasification Ash Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., January 1, 2002; 66(1): 171 - 178. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. A. Guest, C. T. Johnston, J. J. King, J. E. Alleman, J. K. Tishmack, and L.D. Norton Chemical Characterization of Synthetic Soil from Composting Coal Combustion and Pharmaceutical By-Products J. Environ. Qual., January 1, 2001; 30(1): 246 - 253. [Abstract] [Full Text]