Alton G. Campbell

Evaluation of wood ash disposal on agricultural land. I. Potential as a soil additive and liming agent

Abstract This study evaluated wood ash as an agricultural fertilizer and liming material. Winter wheat (Triticwn aestivum) and poplar (Populus sp.) were grown in a greenhouse on six different Idaho soils amended with different ash concentrations. At ash levels equal to or lower than 2%, no detrimental plant growth effects were observed. In fact, the biomass of the wheat and the caliper and height of the poplar cuttings increased more at 2% ash (40 mt/ha) than with the control soil. These results suggest that wood ash could be used in agricultural applications as a low analysis fertilizer containing K and/or a liming agent. Land application of wood ash could be less expensive and more environmentally sound than present landfilling practices.

Composting and Evaluating a Pulp and Paper Sludge for Use as a Soil Amendment/Mulch

Composting could be used in the pulp and paper industry to treat primary sludges as an alternative to landfilling. The objective of this project was to compost and evaluate a pulp and paper sludge for use as a soil amendment/mulch. Primary sludge, tailings, wood ash (0, 5 or 10 percent by volume), and paunch (cattle stomach contents and tissue) from a slaughterhouse were composted in a 91 m windrow that was turned one to two times per week. The pile moisture content and temperature were controlled at 50 percent and 57–63°C during 14 weeks of composting. The compost was then cured for 4 weeks for a total treatment time of 18 weeks. Sludge dry mass decreased by approximately 50 percent, pH increased slightly to 8.2 to 8.5, and carbon-nitrogen ratio decreased from 270:1 to 14–67:1 after composting and curing. Electrical conductivity of all final composts was over 4 dS/m. Shoot biomass of tomato plants grown in a compost-amended medium (50 percent compost, 25 percent sand, 25 percent perlite by volume) improv...

Wood ash as a soil additive and liming agent for wheat: Field studies

Abstract An industrial wood ash with a calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of 36 and a pH of 12.9 was applied to two field sites at 0, 0.56, 1.12, 1.68, 2.24, 4.48, and 8.96 Mg/ha and at 0, 0.56, 1.12, 2.24, 4.48, 8.96, 17.9, and 35.8 Mg/ha. Soil pH and available K increased with application rate, while growth of wheat and protein content on ash‐amended plots was unaffected. Cadmium, lead and zinc content in the wheat was comparable at 0 and 17.9 Mg/ha, which indicated no net accumulation of heavy metals. Based on this field study and other greenhouse studies described in the literature, wood ash can be recycled as a liming agent and soil amendment when applied at agronomic rates based on soil fertility needs and the chemical composition of the ash.

Newsprint pulp and paper sludge as a soil additive/ amendment for alfalfa and bluegrass: Greenhouse study

Abstract A newsprint, pulp and paper sludge was evaluated as a soil additive/amendment at 0, 8, 15, 31, 62, 123, and 246 Mgfta for growth of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and bluegrass (Poa pratensis) under greenhouse conditions. Bluegrass biomass increased by 300%, and protein content increased by 27% at 246 Mg/ha compared to the unamended soil. Alfalfa biomass was unaffected by sludge application rate, but protein content increased by 12%. No net nitrogen (N) immobilization was observed. A comparison of single and double exponential N mineralization models showed that the two pool model more closely fit the N mineralization data obtained from a laboratory incubation study. The two pool model was then used to develop linear regression equations to estimate appropriate sludge application rates based on the rate of N mineralization.

Use of Raw and Composted Paper Sludge as a Soil Additive or Mulch for Cottonwood Plants

Pulp and paper sludge is a by-product of paper production and may be suitable in agricultural applications as a soil amendment or mulch. The objective of this study was to evaluate raw and composted pulp and paper sludge as soil additives or mulches for cottonwood plants. Primary sludge, a combination of by-products from bleached kraft and neutral sulfite semichemical paper, was mixed with tailings, slaughterhouse paunch, and 10 percent wood ash (by volume), and used raw or composted and cured in the field for 39 weeks. Cuttings of two cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh) clones were planted in a field soil (Quincy loamy fine sand) that was mixed (incorporated) or mulched (placed on top the soil) with raw or composted sludge mixtures at application rates of 0,45,90, 135 and 180 Mg/ha. The plants were grown in a plastic house for nine weeks. Electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), soluble Cl and extractable Na in soil amended with 180 Mg/ha of compost were 37, 22, 197 and 13...

The Present Status and Potential of Kraft Lignin-Phenol-Formaldehyde Wood Adhesives

Abstract Kraft lignin (KL), a phenolic polymer formed during the kraft pulping process, is presently burned as a low value fuel. For decades, researchers have attempted to use KL as an inexpensive substitute for phenol in phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins, but no one has produced a commercially satisfactory KL-PF resin. This paper reviews the literature on the present status of KL-PF adhesives and makes recommendations on needed research. Kraft lignin solutions are complex mixtures which have broad molecular weight distributions, high viscosities, relatively low reactivities, and low solubilities. Attempts to overcome these inherent problems include methylolation of lignin to improve reactivity, the use of co-solvents to improve solubility, and ultrafiltration to yield more homogeneous molecular weight fractions. Future research efforts need to focus on understanding the fundamental chemical and physical properties of kraft lignin and its resins. The search for an economic lignin-based wood adhesive should ...

Log yard fines as a soil amendment: Pot and field studies

Abstract This study evaluated the application of high levels of log yard fines (LYF), produced by the screening of log yard residues, as a soil amendment/additive. In both pot and field studies, plant growth decreased as LYF application rate increased. LYF immobilized nitrogen (N) and reduced its availability to plants. In the pot study, both alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and orchard grass (Dactylis glomerota L.) had low yields at the first harvest but much higher yields at the second harvest, indicating that N immobilization decreased with time. Alfalfa growth was superior to orchard grass in the LYF‐amended pot soil due to its ability to fix N. LYF provided mineral nutrients and organic matter, lowered soil density, and also improved soil moisture retention properties. This study suggested that LYF could be used as a N‐immobilizing mulch or as a soil amendment/additive for marginal farmland when fertilized adequately and allowed to stabilize in the soil.

Amended and composted log yard fines as a growth medium for crimson clover and red top grass

Abstract Log yard residues (LYR) a bark and soil waste material produced during log handling, could find use as a growth medium for plants. In this study, log yard fines (LYF), a screened fraction of the LYR (<1.3 cm), were either not amended or amended with a N‐S fertilizer mixture (LYF + F) or with cow manure (LYF + M) and then composted outdoors in insulated, aerated tanks for 18–22 weeks. The resulting substrates were then evaluated as growth media for ‘Chief crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) and ‘Streaker’ red top (Agrostis alba L.). Plants were fertilized (0 or 78 kg N/ha) and grown in a growth chamber. Temperatures in the LYF and LYF + F piles were similar to ambient conditions over the 5–6 month treatment period, whereas the manure‐amended pile reached a maximum of 34°C after two weeks and then cooled to ambient after two additional weeks. The final C/N ratio of the nonamended LYF was 85 as compared to 36 for LYF + M and 44 for LYF + F. Clover and red top grew best (height and biomass) in L...