SREL Reprint #2928

Phytostabilization of a landfill containing coal combustion waste

Christopher Barton1, Donald Marx2, Domy Adriano3, Bon Jun Koo3, Lee Newman4, Stephen Czapka5, and John Blake5

1Department of Forestry, University of Kentucky, 203 Thomas Poe Cooper Building, Lexington, Kentucky 40546
2PHC Reclamation, 775 Eddings Point Road, Frogmore, South Carolina 29920
3Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802
4Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 800 Sumter Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208
5U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service–Savannah River, P.O. Box 700, New Ellenton, South Carolina 29809

Abstract: The establishment of a vegetative cover to enhance evapotranspiration and control runoff and drainage was examined as a method for stabilizing a landfill containing coal combustion waste. Suitable plant species and pretreatment techniques in the form of amendments, tilling, and chemical stabilization were evaluated. A randomized plot design consisting of three subsurface treatments (blocks) and five surface amendments (treatments) was implemented. The three blocks included (1) ripping and compost amended, (2) ripping only, and (3) control. Surface treatments included (1) topsoil, (2) fly ash, (3) compost, (4) apatite, and (5) control. Inoculated loblolly (Pinus taeda) and Virginia (Pinus virginiana) pine trees were planted on each plot. After three growing seasons, certain treatments were shown to be favorable for the establishment of vegetation on the basin. Seedlings located on block A developed a rooting system that penetrated into the basin media without significant adverse effects to the plant. However, seedlings on blocks B and C displayed poor rooting conditions and high mortality, regardless of surface treatment. Pore-water samples from lysimeters in block C were characterized by high acidity, Fe, Mn, Al, sulfate, and trace-element concentrations. Water-quality characteristics of the topsoil plots in block A, however, conformed to regulatory protocols. A decrease in soil-moisture content was observed in the rooting zone of plots that were successfully revegetated, which suggests that the trees, in combination with the surface treatments, influenced the water balance by facilitating water loss through transpiration and thereby reducing the likelihood of unwanted surface runoff and/or drainage effluent.

SREL Reprint #2928

Barton, C., D. Marx, D. C. Adriano, B. J. Koo, L. Newman, S. Czapka, and J. Blake. 2005. Phytostabilization of a landfill containing coal combustion waste. Environmental Geosciences 12(4): 251-265.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).