Evaluation of Agricultural Waste Repurposing using Ion Exchanged Potassium Clinoptilolite
Abstract
A crucial component of the anthropocene is the connection between nutrient management and food production. Growing demand for food has led to the unbounded use of synthetic chemical fertilizers to increase food production but frequently at the detriment of the environment. Nutrient pollution from intensive animal agriculture in particular impacts soil health and contributes to harmful nitrogen emissions in the forms of nitrous oxide and ammonia. Zeolites are naturally occurring aluminosilicates with a porous structure that are often used for water purification due to their capacity for ion exchange. When used as soil amendments or growth mediums, zeolites loaded with essential plant nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium have been shown to produce yields similar to soil treated with typical chemical fertilizers. Nutrient loaded zeolites have also been shown to have minimal leaching of potassium and nitrogen compared to fertilized soils. In this study, the ammonia loading potential of potassium clinoptilolite, a naturally occurring zeolite containing potassium ions, was evaluated using a solution of hog farm effluent as a nutrient source. Potassium clinoptilolite was found to absorb between 70% and 80% of the ammonia in the effluent depending on particle size and contact time. The resulting ammonia loaded clinoptilolite was found to be comparable to commercially available ion exchanged zeolites used to enhance crop performance. Nutrient removal from agricultural effluent by clinoptilolite shows potential in ammonia removal and nutrient recycling as the nutrients contained in the resulting product can be used to increase plant growth.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMB094.0003B
- Keywords:
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- 0402 Agricultural systems;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 0414 Biogeochemical cycles;
- processes;
- and modeling;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 0428 Carbon cycling;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 0486 Soils/pedology;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES