1 AIT Asian Institute of Technology

Trace metals and heavy metals composition of chemical fertilizers and soil amendment materials

AuthorNaqvi, Ali Ahmad
Call NumberAIT Thesis no. EV-98-11
Subject(s)Fertilizers--Environmental aspects
NoteA thesis submitted in pa1tial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development
PublisherAsian Institute of Technology
AbstractThe prime objective of this study was to evaluate the trace metal and heavy metal composition of chemical fertilizers and soil amendment material most commonly used in Asian region. The eleven types of thirty chemical fertilizers are selected for analysis of eight metals and these eleven types of feitilizers accounts for 85 percent of consumption and usage in the Asian region and seven types of soil amendment materials are analyzed for metal contents. Acid digestion procedure was used for digestion of chemical fertilizers and results indicate that concentration of trace metals and heavy metals in Phosphate fettilizer>K fertilizer> N fertilizer. Soil amendment materials were analyzed by three different techniques of total digestion, DTP A extraction and sequential extraction. Analysis of total metal content is done by total digestion, bioavailability of metals in soil amendment material is assessed by DTP A extraction and sequential extraction test was used to fractionate pool of metals into six operationally defined groups; exchangeable, carbonated, easily reducible, moderately reducible, sulphitic and residual. The residual fraction was the most abundant pool for all eight metals examined. DTP A extraction results of amendment materials are correlated with (exchangeable + carbonated) fraction and regression coefficient for all metals ranged between 0.75 to 0.98. Incomplete digestions of fly ash and bottom ash were observed by HN03-HCl04 so results of fly ash and bottom ash are not evaluated. Extraction with DTPA and sequential extraction ( exchangeable+carbonated) showed that almost 4% to 40% of trace metals and heavy metals in soil amendments exist in bioavailable forms for plants. while major proportion of most of the metals in all amendment materials are associated with residual fraction and could be classified as of geochemical origin. Estimation of build up of heavy metals by application of chemical fertilizers and soil amendment material is done for the soils of Thailand and this is compared with the maximum permissible concentrations in the soils. It was found that chemical fertilizers and liming materials are environmentally safe with regard to heavy metals input, as no significant amount of heavy metals buildup in the soils occurs by use of chemical fertilizer and liming materials as recommended by the DO A Thailand, but if sludges and city composts are applied in the soils it is needed to monitor potentially toxic metals in the soils.
Year1998
TypeThesis
SchoolSchool of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD)
DepartmentDepartment of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC))
Academic Program/FoSEnvironmental Engineering (EV)
Chairperson(s)Preeda Parkpian
Examination Committee(s)Eckhardt, Ing Heinz ;Apisit Eiumnoh
Scholarship Donor(s)Asian Institute of Technology, Partial Scholarship
DegreeThesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1998


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