Abstract
The Baker Soil Test (BST), which acts as a diagnostic soil test for plant growth and food chain protection, has been used to evaluate soil properties on minesoils being reclaimed with and without amendments. The theory behind the BST was explained on the basis of quantity/intensity relationships using the relative partial molar (Gibbs) free energy equation. Thermodynamic relationships were related to bioavailability of ions, water, and oxygen to plants as a basis for soil environmental chemistry. The geochemical database was able to predict results of field tests so that integrated waste management systems can be applied to mineland reclamation. A field experiment was conducted using fly ash, one of a number of coal combustion products (CCPs), as a substitute to reclaim mineland. Erosion data for the ash site gave a measured K value of 1.44. Combinations of soil and CCPs ranging from all soil to all ash to a depth of 1.8 meters were all equal as to plant nutrition. A second experiment, using CCPs and composted municipal sewage sludge incorporated with coal refuse at a pH less than 2 showed the synthetic soil stabilized (measured by pH and electrical conductivity) and that less compaction occurred on coal refuse plots when ash was incorporated than on plots without ash. Addition of sewage sludge also reduced compaction to a lesser degree. These results were related to physical and chemical properties of the materials. Other experiments used CCPs with pH above 8 on ash disposal areas at two other sites in northeast and central Pennsylvania. The BST also predicted successful vegetation of both of these sites with no further treatment. There was an area being degraded by acid infiltration from an untreated mine waste. Samples from this area were evaluated by the BST which indicated a soil deterioration with eventual vegetation failure. Land reclamation projects have been successful by applying the theory and computerized system for calculating ion activities and relative availabilities using the BST. The protocol involves the development of synthetic soil from minesoils, fly ash, culm ash, agricultural lime, and fertilizer. Development of satisfactory ground cover in conjunction with soil and plant analysis tests confirmed the effectiveness of the protocol for synthetic soils without the use of topsoil. Final assessment of the synthetic soil by the BST and short-and long-term acid neutralization complete the protocol enabling CCPs plus other wastes to become productive soils.
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References
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Baker, D.E., Baker, C.S., Sajwan, K.S. (1999). Evaluation of Coal Combustion Products as Components in Disturbed Land Reclamation by the Baker Soil Test. In: Sajwan, K.S., Alva, A.K., Keefer, R.F. (eds) Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements in Coal and Coal Combustion Byproducts. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4155-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4155-4_9
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