Pedosphere 12(2): 97--102, 2002
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2002 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
Effect of alkaline-stabilised sewage sludge on extractable organic carbon and copper in soils
LUO Yong-Ming1 and P. CHRISTIE2
1 Institute of Soil Science, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China)
2 Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, The Queen's University of Belfast, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX (UK)
ABSTRACT
      An incubation experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential for water contamination with sludge-derived organic substances and copper following land application of alkaline-stabilised sewage sludge. Two contrasting sludge-amended soils were studied. Both soils were previously treated with urban and ruralalkaline biosolids separately at sludge application rates of 0, 30 and 120 t ha-1 fresh product. The air-driedsoil/sludge mixtures were wetted with distilled water, maintained at 40 % of water-holding capacity andequilibrated for three weeks at 4 ℃ before extraction. Subsamples were extracted with either distilled wateror 0.5 mol L-1 K2SO4 solution. The concentrations of organic C in the aqueous and chemical extracts were determined directly with a total organic carbon (TOC) analyser. The concentrations of Cu in the twoextracts were also determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry The relationship between the two extractable organic C fractions was examined, together with that between extractable organic C concentration and extractable Cu concentration. Application of alkaline biosolids increased the concentrations of soil mobile organic substances and Cu. The results are discussed in terms of a possible increase in the potential for leaching of sludge-derived organics and Cu in the sludge-amended soils.
Key Words:  clay, extracts, leaching, organic matter, trace metals
Citation: Luo, Y. M. and Christie, P. 2002. Effect of alkaline-stabilised sewage sludge on extractable organic carbon and copper in soils. Pedosphere. 12(2): 97-102.
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