Abstract
Elemental sulfur of waste origin may be a valuable sulfur source for plants. However, assessing the suitability of environmental use of a waste material should confirm there is no harmful effect of the material on soil environment. The purpose of the incubation experiment was to assess the availability of selected elements (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd) in soils supplemented with waste elemental sulfur. The research was conducted on two soils: light and heavy, and with three sulfur doses applied to each soil. Available forms of elements in the soils were extracted 60 days after the waste introduction, with three reagents: 0.01 mol L−1 CaCl2, Mehlich 3 and 1 mol L−1 HCl. Additionally, to determine the impact of the introduced sulfur on soil acidification, soil pH was periodically checked during the experiment. The sulfur addition intensified acidification of the light soil, and, to a lesser extent, of the heavy soil. The acidifying effect was stronger when the sulfur dose was higher. The content of available forms of elements in the soils depended mainly on the strength of the used extractants (generally, the highest amounts were extracted with 1 mol L−1 HCl and the lowest with 0.01 mol L−1 CaCl2). The effect of sulfur introduction on element availability was small. No harmful effect on element availability in soils was stated.
Highlights
Increasing urbanization and subsequent effect of growing municipal wastewater production increase the attention in sewage sludge management
The most common approach is anaerobic digestion resulting in production of biogas, constituting the energy source, as well as of waste materials that can be used as fertilizers or soil amendments [1,2]
The recently observed growth in the application of technologies of anaerobic digestion may be due to its suitability for simultaneous organic waste management and energy production, at reduced costs
Summary
Increasing urbanization and subsequent effect of growing municipal wastewater production increase the attention in sewage sludge management. The most common approach is anaerobic digestion resulting in production of biogas, constituting the energy source, as well as of waste materials that can be used as fertilizers or soil amendments [1,2]. The recently observed growth in the application of technologies of anaerobic digestion may be due to its suitability for simultaneous organic waste management and energy production, at reduced costs. The introduced waste elemental sulfur had no significant impact on the content of available forms of macroelements in both tested soils, regardless of sulfur dose. Significant changes in the content of available forms of heavy metals as a result of sulfur application were observed only for some of the examined heavy metals and used reagents. No clear positive relation between waste sulfur dose and heavy metal availability was observed
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