Soil application of an aluminum industry by-product: Influences on soil chemistry and plant nutrition
- Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). Dept. of Agronomy
The recovery of metallic aluminum from furnace slag (skim) requires a fluxing salt to encapsulate metal oxides.A change from sodium chloride to potassium chloride (KCl) as a fluxing agent may allow for the annual agronomic land application of up to 2 million metric tons of this currently landfilled by-product. Both greenhouse and laboratory experiments were employed to study the influence of skim applications on soil and plant uptake of metals. In the greenhouse, KCl-enriched skim, KCl, and potassium sulfate were evaluated as potassium (K) fertilizers for wheat and alfalfa were grown on three soils and washed quartz sand. All K sources increased dry matter yields in both crops on all soils. Total metal analysis of tissue samples and analysis of soil pH, exchangeable base, and available phosphorus will also be presented. The utilization of a KCl-enrich skim product as a K fertilizer may provide an environmentally suitable alternative to landfills as well as an inexpensive source of K fertilizer to agriculture.
- OSTI ID:
- 395363
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9505206-; TRN: IM9648%%486
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 50. Purdue industrial waste conference, W. Lafayette, IN (United States), 8-10 May 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the 50. industrial waste conference; Wukasch, R.F. [ed.]; PB: 861 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Effects of coal-fired thermal power plant discharges on agricultural soil and crop plants
Emergence and growth of plant species in coal mine soil