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Effect of industrial and domestic ash from biomass combustion, and spent coffee grounds, on soil fertility and plant growth: experiments at field conditions

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Abstract

An experimental study was conducted at field conditions in order to evaluate the effect of application of ash from biomass combustion on some soil fertility characteristics and plant growth. Application of 7.5 Mg ha−1 industrial fly ash (IA), domestic ash (DA), and a 50:50 mix of domestic ash (DA) and spent coffee grounds (SCG) was made in different soil parcels. Lolium perenne seeds were sown and the grown biomass was harvested and quantified after 60 days. Soil samples from each parcel were also collected after that period and characterized. Both soil and grown biomass samples were analyzed for Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Al contents. Soil pH was determined before and after amendment. All applications rose significantly soil pH. Domestic ash, whether combined with coffee grounds or not, proved to be efficient at supplying available macronutrients Ca, Mg, K, and P to the soil and also reducing availability of Al (more than industrial ash). However, it inhibited plant growth, even more when combined with spent coffee grounds. As regards to elemental abundance in plant tissue, both domestic ash treatments reduced Ca and enhanced Al contents, unlike industrial ash, which proved less harmful for the load applied in the soil. Hence, it was possible to conclude that application load should be a limiting factor for this management option for the studied materials.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for the financial support through project PTDC/AAC-AMB/116568/2010 (Project n°. FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-019346) – BiomAshTech: Ash impacts during thermo-chemical conversion of biomass.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    João Peres Ribeiro, Estela Domingos Vicente, Ana Paula Gomes, Maria Isabel Nunes, Célia Alves & Luís A. C. Tarelho

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  1. João Peres Ribeiro
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  2. Estela Domingos Vicente
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  3. Ana Paula Gomes
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  4. Maria Isabel Nunes
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  5. Célia Alves
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  6. Luís A. C. Tarelho
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Correspondence to Luís A. C. Tarelho.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Ribeiro, J.P., Vicente, E.D., Gomes, A. et al. Effect of industrial and domestic ash from biomass combustion, and spent coffee grounds, on soil fertility and plant growth: experiments at field conditions. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 15270–15277 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9134-y

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