Location: Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research
2021 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Biochar amendment improves soil health and revegetation in mining-impacted soils. The ongoing cleanup and remediation of the Oronogo-Duenweg Mining Belt area in Missouri, with most of the land privately owned, consists of removing and disposing of all heavy metal-contaminated soil materials. The cleanup process removed the soil's top layers, leaving a barren landscape with the soil's parent material exposed and no vegetation cover. Such undesirable terrain dissuaded landowners against costly but necessary remediation efforts to reduce the environmental impact of lead, zinc, and cadmium contamination. Therefore, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) established an inter-agency agreement with ARS researchers in Florence, South Carolina, to investigate the use of biochar and compost as soil amendments to improve landscape restoration and management of revegetation of the mine-impacted soils. ARS researchers at Florence, South Carolina, developed and utilized an engineered blend of manure-based biochar and compost effective for binding residual heavy metals. The management practice of applying this engineered soil amendment improved the heavy metal-contaminated soils' physical, chemical, and biological properties, increasing soil health and fertility. This research showed that using the engineered biochar-compost blend to treat mine-impacted soils allowed the growth of prairie grasses in vegetation covers. This management practice provides USEPA with an additional tool to assist private landholders in restoring and revegetating mining-impacted land.
2. Enhancement of biogas production with ammonia recovery. Among the alternatives for improving manure management, anaerobic digestion and biogas production is considered a solution. However, the high ammonia concentration in manure reduces the potential production of biogas due to ammonia inhibition of the microorganisms (methanogens). ARS researchers in Florence, South Carolina, applied a new technology that separates ammonia from wastes with gas-permeable membranes to evaluate if the ammonia capture could improve biogas production from swine manure. Results showed that, by coupling the ammonia recovery technology with anaerobic digestion, the methane yield increased up to 28 % compared to a control treatment without ammonia recovery. In addition, the percentages of methane in biogas were higher. Therefore, the new treatment configuration enhances the quantity and quality of the biogas produced from manure and recovers ammonia nitrogen in a marketable ammonium salt.
3. Use of plastic mulch waste and animal manure to detoxify contaminated soils. Due to the lack of reuse of plastic mulch film (PMF) in agricultural production, recycling technologies are needed to avoid the wasteful, expensive, and environmentally unsustainable accumulation of plastic debris in landfills and natural ecosystems. ARS researchers in Florence, South Carolina, converted blends of PMF waste and animal manure into energy and a solid byproduct called “plastichar” via the thermal process of pyrolysis. The potential use of plastichar to treat pesticide-contaminated soil included plastichar’s enzymatic activation by soil incubation with earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris). The earthworms acted as biological vectors to facilitate the retention of enzymes onto the plastichar surface. Results revealed that plastichar-treated soils increased soil enzyme activity compared to plastichar-free soils, with the highest enzyme activity in the presence of earthworms. Because plastichar did not have lethal effects on earthworms, this finding strongly suggests the potential use of plastichar in tandem with earthworms to detoxify pesticide-contaminated soils.
Review Publications
Molinuevo-Salces, B., Riano, B., Vanotti, M.B., Hernandez-Gonzalez, D., Garcia-Gonzalez, M.C. 2020. Pilot-scale demonstration of membrane-based nitrogen recovery from swine manure. Membranes 2020. 10(10):270. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10100270.
Ro, K.S., Szogi, A.A., Sigua, G.C. 2020. Editorial to special issue "Innovative animal manure management for environmental protection, improved soil fertility and crop production." In: Ro. K.S., Szogi, A.A., Sigua, G.C., editors. Innovative animal manure management for environmental protection, improved soil fertility and crop production. Switzerland: MDPI Books. p. ix-xi.
Ye, R., Parajuli, B., Szogi, A.A., Sigua, G.C., Ducey, T.F. 2021. Soil health assessment after 40 years of conservation and conventional tillage management in Southeastern coastal plain soils . Soil Science Society of America Journal. 85,4:1214-1225. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20246.
Sanchez-Hernandez, Juan C., Ro, Kyoung S., Szogi, Ariel A., Chang, Sechin, Park, Bosoon. 2021. Earthworms increase the potential for enzymatic bio-activation of biochars made from co-pyrolyzing animal manures and plastic wastes. Journal of Hazardous Materials. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124405.
Ro, K.S., Libra, J.A., Alvarez-Murillo, A. 2020. Comparative studies on water- and vapor-based hydrothermal carbonization: Process analysis. Energies [MDPI]. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215733.
Szogi, A.A., Takata, V.H., Shumaker, P.D. 2020. Chemical extraction of phosphorus from dairy manure and utilization of recovered manure solids. Agronomy [MDPI]. 10(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111725.
Novak, J.M., Frederick, J.R., Watts, D.W., Ducey, T.F., Karlen, D.L. 2021. Corn stover removal responses on soil test P and K levels in Coastal Plain Ultisols. Sustainability. 13(8):4401. https://doi.org//10.3390/su13084401.
Cerven, V., Novak, J.M., Szogi, A.A., Pantuck, K., Watts, D.W., Johnson, M.G. 2021. The occurrence of legacy P soils and potential mitigation practices using activated biochars. Agronomy. 11:1289. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11071289.
Hollas, C.E., Bolsan, A.C., Venturin, B., Bonassa, G., Tapparo, D.C., Candido, D., Antes, F.G., Vanotti, M.B., Szogi, A.A., Kunz, A. 2021. Second-generation phosphorus: recovery from wastes towards the sustainability of production chains. Sustainability. 13(11):5919. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115919.
Parajuli, B., Ye, R., Luo, M., Ducey, T.F., Park, D., Smith, M., Sigua, G.C. 2021. Contrasting carbon and nitrogen responses to tillage at different soil depths: An observation after 40-year of tillage management. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 85,4:1256-1268. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20277.
Novak, J.M., Watts, D.W., Sigua, G.C., Ducey, T.F. 2021. Corn grain and stover nutrient uptake responses from sandy soil treated with designer biochars and compost. Agronomy. 11(5):942. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11050942.
Trippe, K.M., Manning, V., Reardon, C.L., Klein, A.M., Weidman, C.S., Ducey, T.F., Novak, J.M., Watts, D.W., Rushmiller, H.C., Spokas, K.A., Ippolito, J.A., Johnson, M.G. 2021. Phytostabilization of acidic mine tailings with biochar, biosolids, lime, and locally-sourced microbial inoculum: Do amendment mixtures influence plant growth, tailing chemistry, and microbial composition? Applied Soil Ecology. 165. Article 103962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2021.103962.
Hwang, O., Scoggin, K.D., Andersen, D., Ro, K.S., Trabue, S.L. 2021. Swine manure dilution with lagoon effluent impact on odor reduction and manure digestion. Journal of Environmental Quality. 50(2):336-349. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20197.
Parajuli, B., Luo, M., Ye, R., Ducey, T.F., Park, D., Smith, M., Sigua, G.C. 2021. Aggregate distribution and the associated carbon in Norfolk soils under long-term conservation tillage and short-term cover cropping. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 52:859-870. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2020.1869769.
Ippolito, J.A., Cui, L., Kammann, C., Wrage-Monnig, N., Estavillo, J.M., Fuertes-Mendizabal, T., Cayuela, M., Sigua, G.C., Novak, J.M., Spokas, K.A., Borchard, N. 2020. Feedstock choice, pyrolysis temperature and type influence biochar characteristics: a comprehensive meta-data analysis review. Biochar. 2:421-438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-020-00067-x.
Ippolito, J.A., Ducey, T.F., Diaz, K., Barbarick, K.A. 2021. Long-term biosolids land application influences soil health. Science of the Total Environment. 791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148344.
Ducey, T.F., Novak, J.M., Sigua, G.C., Ippolito, J.A., Rushmiller, H.C., Watts, D.W., Trippe, K.M., Spokas, K.A., Stone, K.C., Johnson, M.G. 2021. Microbial response to designer biochar and compost treatments for mining impacted soils. Biochar. 3:299-314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-021-00093-3.
Ibekwe, A.M., Durso, L.M., Ducey, T.F., Oladeinde, A., Jackson, C.R., Frye, J.G., Dungan, R.S., Moorman, T.B., Brooks, J.P., Obayiuwana, A., Karathia, H., Fanelli, B., Hasan, N.A. 2021. Diversity of plasmids and genes encoding resistance to extended-spectrum ß-Lactamase in Escherichia coli from different animal sources. Microorganisms. 9(5). Article 1057. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9051057.
Gaffar, S., Dattamudi, S., Baboukani, A.R., Chanda, S., Novak, J.M., Watts, D.W., Wang, C., Jayachandran, K. 2021. Physiochemical characterization of biochars from six feedstocks and their effects on the sorption of atrazine in an organic soil. Agronomy. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040716.
Phuong Pham, T.T., Ro, K.S., Chen, L., Mahajan, D., Siang, T., Ashik, U., Hayashi, J., Minh, D., Vo, D.N. 2020. Microwave-assisted dry reforming of methane for syngas production: a review. Environmental Chemistry Letters. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01055-0.
Gonzalez-Garcia, I., Riano, B., Molinuevo-Salces, B., Vanotti, M.B., Garcia-Gonzalez, M. 2021. Improved anaerobic digestion of swine manure by simultaneous ammonia recovery using gas-permeable membranes. Water Research. 190. Article #116789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116789.
Soto-Herranz, M., Sanchez-Bascones, M., Antolin-Rodriguez, J., Vanotti, M.B., Martin-Ramos, P. 2021. Effect of acid flow rate, membrane surface area, and capture solution on the effectiveness of suspended GPM systems to recover ammonia. Membranes [MDPI]. ll(7):538. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11070538.
