Abstract
Notwithstanding the widespread use of natural and pre-exchanged zeolites for zootechnical effluent treatment, little attention has been dedicated to the variation in the chemical composition of the treated slurries, besides the effects on their NH4+ content. This paper aimed at elucidating the compositional variations in terms of major and trace elements of a raw pig-slurry (PS) after three sequential treatment cycles (TC) with three different grain sizes of natural and Na-exchanged zeolite-rich volcanic tuffs (natural ZTs and NaZTs). A series of laboratory batch experiments revealed that all ZTs had profoundly influenced the final PS chemical composition. As expected, the NaZTs were more efficient in terms of NH4+ removal than the natural ZTs, reaching almost 60% reduction of the initial content after three TCs. A parallel effect of this efficient removal was the remarkable increase in Na+. The Na-forms of ZTs led also to stronger competition with K+ ions, resulting in adsorption of this macronutrient and hence in a reduction of the fertilization value of the PS. In terms of heavy metals and other trace elements, all the treatments with ZTs had significantly increased the Li, Ba, Rb, Sr, Ga, and U content in the PS.
Highlights
The impact of livestock activities on the environmental compartment is huge, and it is rapidly increasing [1]
Thanks to the performed experiments, it was possible to evaluate the variations in chemical composition that the PS underwent through sequential treatments with natural and Na-exchanged chabazite-rich volcanic tuffs
Both kind of ZTs profoundly influenced the chemistry of the PS after performing three sequential treatments, with strong significant differences between the natural ZTs and the
Summary
The impact of livestock activities on the environmental compartment is huge, and it is rapidly increasing [1]. This sector is worldwide currently undergoing a quick and complex shift towards intensification and industrialization; by consequence, the pig industry has been significantly restructured in recent years, resulting in the trend “fewer farms are producing more pigs” with an augmented volume of pig-slurry (PS) to be managed at each farm. Commission, “in 2016, the production of pork in the EU amounted to 23.4 million tons. This translated to 45.9 kg per each EU inhabitant and was one and a half kg per person more than in 2006” (data from ec.europa.eu/eurostat). The use of PS as organic fertilizer to agricultural lands generally improves crop yield and decreases the need for chemical fertilizers, allowing farmers to reduce fertilizer costs while increasing soil fertility
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