Sprouting in Seeds Aided by Nitrogen Sourced from Ammonia Fumes Leached from Aluminum Dross

Title

Sprouting in Seeds Aided by Nitrogen Sourced from Ammonia Fumes Leached from Aluminum Dross

Creator

Gomes S.A.; Reghu V.R.; Ramaswamy P.

Description

Nitrogen and water are nutrients essential for the sprouting of seeds and healthy growth of plants. The seeds derive nitrogen from ammonia (NH3), found in ammonium hydroxide commonly added as manure to the soil. In a materials synthesis process, NH3 gas was released when Aluminum-dross (Al-dross), a hazardous industrial foundry waste was beneficiated to extract useful materials (metallic Al, oxides of Al and Mg, etc.) from the waste. Chemical tests, SEM with EDS and XRD were used to characterize sieved black Al-dross (starting raw material) before and after the beneficiation process. Al-dross also contained significant quantities of aluminum nitride (AlN). When treated with an aqueous media (plain or carbonated water), the AlN reacted to release NH3 gas fumes. This work explored the potential of using this gas to act as a source of nitrogen to accelerate the sprouting of seeds and plant germination. Vegetable and fruit seeds were sown in the soil that was directly infused with the NH3 released from Al-dross for two hours, followed by several (8 to 12) hours of self-diffusion time for homogeneous distribution of the gas in the soil. Five pairs of soils (untreated regular and NH3 fumes treated soils) were prepared under similar conditions. 5 different vegetable and fruit seedlings were planted in these pairs of soils. The germination patterns and growth of the sprouts with time were observed. The seeds that preferred an alkaline environment for germination (e.g., ridge gourd and watermelon seeds) sprouted early and in good health in the NH3 treated soil. Seeds preferring acidic soils did not germinate well in NH3 fume-infused soils. The experiments confirmed the viability of the novel concept, where the waste ammonia fumes released from Al-dross could be favorably generated and used in a controlled manner to promote sprouting of certain agricultural seedlings. 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Source

Materials Today: Proceedings

Date

2023-01-01

Publisher

Elsevier Ltd

Subject

Alkaline soil; Aluminum dross; Ammonia; Fertile soil; Leaching; Seed sprouting

Coverage

Gomes S.A., Department of Mechanical & Automobile Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore 560074, India; Reghu V.R., Department of Mechanical & Automobile Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore 560074, India; Ramaswamy P., Department of Mechanical & Automobile Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore 560074, India

Rights

Restricted Access

Relation

ISSN: 22147853

Format

Online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2023.01.289

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85148425479&doi=10.1016%2fj.matpr.2023.01.289&partnerID=40&md5=1726aedbfd9310c435d0a97b77bc7cbf