Revegetation of mine tailings sites can require significant amounts of topsoil, the sourcing of which can be costly and have detrimental impacts. To address this problem at an Irish mine tailings site, engineered soils were created by mixing varying rates of glacial till with stockpiled peat and compost. Soil status was assessed using a range of soil parameters and vegetation growth characteristics and compared with locally sourced topsoil. Hordeum vulgare (Barley) germination and growth trials were assessed on engineered soils: compost with glacial till, peat with glacial till, compost/ peat with glacial till and topsoil. A range of soil quality parameters were examined including: nutrient status, dehydrogenase activity, metals availability and physical characteristics (bulk/particle density and porosity). Results demonstrate that compost derived soils yielded superior plant biomass and nutrient content, whilst peat derived treatments exhibited nutrient deficiency. Whilst the engineered soils offer potential as an alternative to sourcing topsoil for covering mine tailings, the phosphorus and metal content of composts should be assessed prior to inclusion.
ABSTRACT:The aim of this research was to examine the effect of copper cation-exchanged zeolites on the adsorption uptake of organic pollutants. Two beta zeolites with silica-to-alumina ratios of 25:1 and 150:1 were modified by copper cation exchange and their potential for the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions was investigated. It was found that copper loading could be increased by increasing the pH of the exchange to 7. The exchanged copper was found to be relatively resistant to leaching between 5 and 11. An increase in copper loading or silica content resulted in an increase in the adsorption capacity of the zeolite for phenol. Overall, it was found that the adsorption showed best fit to the generalized Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption process was exothermic and yielded thermodynamic parameters that were contiguous with phenol adsorption.
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