Journal of Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers ISSN:1738-3692(Print) 2093-7709(Online) 한국농공학회논문집

This study investigated the potential use and the effectiveness of biomass ashes for the stabilization of heavy metals in soil through a series of experiments. The ashes used for the experiments were obtained from the gasification of biomass including miscanthus and woodchips. The amounts of nickel and chromium released from the soil and ash mixture were analyzed. Chemical analysis showed that the ash contained unburned carbon as well as silica and alkali metals. Miscanthus ashes have C (83.400 %) > Si (9.040 %) > K (3.180 %) > Ca (1.800 %), and woodchip ashes have C (93.800 %) > Ca (2.220 %) > Fe (1.370 %) > K (1.200 %). KSLT and TCLP test results implied that the heavy metal concentrations were below the environmental standards and would not impose the risks. The results also showed that Ni releases were more limited as more ashes were mixed with the soil due to the increases in exchangeable, carbonate, and oxide nikels. Both miscanthus and woodchip ahses were effective in stabilizing nickel and chromium through mixing with the soil. It could be seen that ashes produced from biomass gasification can be used to stabilize the heavy metals in soils.