Land Application of Aluminum Water Treatment Residual: Aluminum Phytoavailability and Forage Yield

Abstract

Negative impacts of land-applied aluminum (Al)-rich water treatment residuals (WTRs), which have been suggested to improve soil phosphorus (P) sorption, could include excessive immobilization of plant-available P and Al phytotoxicity. We studied the impacts of an Al-rich WTRs on agronomic returns and plant Al concentrations in glasshouse and field studies. The glasshouse study was a 4 6 2 6 3 factorial experiment with one control in a randomized complete block design and three replicates. Four sources of P were each applied at two agronomic rate [44 kg P ha 21 , P-based rate; and 179 kg plant-available nitrogen (PAN) ha 21 , N-based rate] to topsoil (0-15 cm) of a sandy, siliceous, hyperthermic Arenic Alaquods. Three WTR rates (0, 10, and 25 g kg 21 ovendry-weight basis) were further applied, whereas the control received neither P source nor WTRs. Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Fluggae), ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), and a second bahiagrass crop were continuously grown in succession for 18 months. Applied WTRs increased soil Al but not plant Al concentrations (22-80 mg Al kg 21 ), which fell within the normal concentration range for pasture plants. In the glasshouse, when WTRs were incorporated with the soil, bahiagrass dry matter (DM) accumulation was reduced, but ryegrass DM was not affected even at 25 g kg 21 WTR. A 2-year field study, with same treatments but two rates of WTRs (0 and 10 g kg 21 WTR) surface applied to established bahiagrass on the same soil type (Spodosols) showed neither reduced yields nor increased plant Al 1483 phytoavailability in the WTR treatments. The studies show no increase in plant Al is associated with Al-WTRs applied to reduce excess soil-soluble P and P losses but plant DM accumulation may be reduced.

Recycled Products from Municipal Wastewater: Composition and Effects on Phosphorus Mobility in a Sandy Soil

“…Concentrations of Al, Ca, and Mg were highest in the recycled products receiving the respective additions of Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 [Al‐SSA, Al(ut)‐SSA] during P precipitation, CaCl 2 (Ca‐SSA) and MgCl 2 (Mg‐SSA) during the thermochemical treatment, or MgCl 2 for the precipitation of struvite. High Al concentration in Al‐based SSAs can increase the concentration in amorphous Al in soil, which can lead to toxic effects for crops (Kochian, 1995; Oladeji et al, 2009) or to an elevation of the P sorption capacity in soil (Krogstad et al, 2005; Bøen et al, 2013) (see “Incubation Experiment,” below). During the full H 2 SO 4 digestion for the Al‐SSA, Al compounds are also dissolved and are found to be X‐ray amorphous (Petzet et al, 2012).…”

Characterization of Southern Illinois Water Treatment Residues for Sustainable Applications

“…They are applied in aqueous solutions as sorbents of perchlorate, phosphate, dichromate, dyes, mercury, hydrogen sulfides, and ions of heavy metal and metalloids [5,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. The effect of WTR application on the attenuation and mobility of phosphorus heavy metals and the metalloid arsenic in agricultural soils has also been studied extensively [3,6,7,[27][28][29][30]. However, the application of WTRs for remediating mining impacted ecosystems have not received much attention.…”

Impacts of 1.5-Year Field Aging on Biochar, Humic Acid, and Water Treatment Residual Amended Soil

“…However, except for few occasions (Hsu and Hseu, 2011;Mahdy et al, 2009;Oladeji et al, 2009;Park et al, 2010;Titshall and Hughes, 2009), they were rarely used as soil amendment to test for its ability to alter soil physical properties. Nevertheless, recent WTR application to soils suggested increase in pH, aggregate stability, porosity, water-holding capacity, and saturated hydraulic conductivity and decrease in bulk density (BD) (Hsu and Hseu, 2011;Park et al, 2010), along with significant increase in crop growth (Hsu and Hseu, 2011;Mahdy et al, 2009;Oladeji et al, 2009). However, although some improvements of soil characteristics have been observed under both HA and WTR, almost no data are available on their "temporal" or "aging" effects on soil parameters.…”

“…Simultaneously, various crop yields such as wheat (Triticum L.) (Mackowiak et al, 2001;Tahir et al, 2011) and corn (Zea mays) (Sharif et al, 2002) were enhanced with HA amendments. The water treatment residuals (WTR) were tested for reduction in (i) contamination of P in sandy and other soils (Ahmad et al, 2012;Ippolito et al, 2011;Miller et al, 2011;O'Connor et al, 2005;O'Rourke et al, 2012;Oladeji et al, 2008;Oladeji et al, 2009;Oliver et al, 2011;Ulen et al, 2012) and (ii) heavy metals (Fan et al, 2011;Mahmoud, 2011). However, except for few occasions (Hsu and Hseu, 2011;Mahdy et al, 2009;Oladeji et al, 2009;Park et al, 2010;Titshall and Hughes, 2009), they were rarely used as soil amendment to test for its ability to alter soil physical properties.…”

“…The water treatment residuals (WTR) were tested for reduction in (i) contamination of P in sandy and other soils (Ahmad et al, 2012;Ippolito et al, 2011;Miller et al, 2011;O'Connor et al, 2005;O'Rourke et al, 2012;Oladeji et al, 2008;Oladeji et al, 2009;Oliver et al, 2011;Ulen et al, 2012) and (ii) heavy metals (Fan et al, 2011;Mahmoud, 2011). However, except for few occasions (Hsu and Hseu, 2011;Mahdy et al, 2009;Oladeji et al, 2009;Park et al, 2010;Titshall and Hughes, 2009), they were rarely used as soil amendment to test for its ability to alter soil physical properties. Nevertheless, recent WTR application to soils suggested increase in pH, aggregate stability, porosity, water-holding capacity, and saturated hydraulic conductivity and decrease in bulk density (BD) (Hsu and Hseu, 2011;Park et al, 2010), along with significant increase in crop growth (Hsu and Hseu, 2011;Mahdy et al, 2009;Oladeji et al, 2009).…”