Improvement of Acid Clay Using Calcium-Rich By-Product Recovered from Petroleum De-Sulfur Operation

The objective of this research is to study the efficiency of acclimating the Tapumei Series red clay collected from Ming-Tou, Na-Tou in central Taiwan by using the calcium-rich by-product recovered from the CFB (Circulation Fluidized-Bed Boiler) de-sulfur operation. At the end of the testing period, the samples were dried, sieved and analyzed for pH, exchangeable calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium, and aluminum. The plant growth was observed for 7 weeks in order to investigate the influence of soil improvement on the growth and production of corn. The results reveal that all samples show an initial sharp increase from 3 to 7.5, 8.1, 8.4 and 8.6 for samples added with 18, 27, 36 and 45 tons/hectare of lime, respectively, and the final pH values after 6 months were 6.5, 7.2, 7.6 and 7.9, respectively. The lime treatment increases the soil exchangeable anion concentrations and reduces the aluminum ion concentration. This is because that the recovered CBF by-product is rich in CaO that neutralizes the soil H+ and raises the soil pH. Additionally, the anions contained in the by-product will also enhance the soil nutrients and lower the solubility of aluminum.