Impact of Zeolite from Coal Fly Ash on Soil Hydrophysical Properties and Plant Growth

Claudia Belviso, Antonio Satriani, Stella Lovelli, Alessandro Comegna, Antonio Coppola, Giovanna Dragonetti, Francesco Cavalcante and Anna Rita Rivelli
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Claudia Belviso: Istituto di Metodologie per l’Analisi Ambientale—IMAA-CNR, Tito Scalo (PZ), 85050 Potenza, Italy
Antonio Satriani: Istituto di Metodologie per l’Analisi Ambientale—IMAA-CNR, Tito Scalo (PZ), 85050 Potenza, Italy
Stella Lovelli: School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Alessandro Comegna: School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Antonio Coppola: School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Giovanna Dragonetti: Mediterranean Agronomic Institute, Land and Water Division, IAMB, 70010 Bari, Italy
Francesco Cavalcante: Istituto di Metodologie per l’Analisi Ambientale—IMAA-CNR, Tito Scalo (PZ), 85050 Potenza, Italy
Anna Rita Rivelli: School of Agricultural, Forest, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: Zeolites can be extensively employed in agricultural activities because they improve soil properties such as infiltration rates, saturated hydraulic conductivity, water holding capacity, and cation exchange capacity. Natural and synthetic zeolites can efficiently hold water. Zeolites are also believed to have the ability to lose and gain water reversibly, without changing their crystal structure. In the present study, several laboratory tests were carried out using: (i) zeolite synthesized from coal fly ash (a waste product from burning coal in thermoelectric power plants), (ii) a silty loam soil, typically found in Southern Italy, and (iii) sunflower as a reference plant. The selected soil was amended with different percentages of zeolite (1, 2, 5, and 10%) and the effects of the synthetic mineral addition on the hydrophysical properties of the soil and plant growth were evaluated. The results indicated that soil–zeolite mixtures retained water more efficiently by pore radius modification. However, this causes a variation in the range of plant-available water towards higher soil humidity values, as the amount of added zeolite increases. These data confirm that zeolite addition modifies the selected hydrophysical properties of the soil with the effect of decreasing the soil drainage capacity, making the soil less habitable for plant growth.

Keywords: zeolites; waste; fly ash; water scarcity; irrigation; water holding capacity; soil hydrophysical properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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