Study on the temperature of burning surf clam shell for soil Improvement

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the temperature of burning surf clam shell for soil quality improvement. The experiment was divided two parts, 1) the study of the optimum temperature for calcium oxide production by burning 800, 900, 1,000 and 1,100 °C, 2) the study of using calcium oxide to improve soil qualities of acidic soil and saline soil. The parameters used in the analysis included elements of soil particles, soil moisture, pH, conductivity, total content nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The results showed that the optimum temperature for the production of calcium oxide was 1,100 °C since it provided the highest calcium oxide content of 90 % by weight. After applying calcium oxide into acidic soil the composition of soil particles was changed from sandy clay to sandy clay loam. In contrast, the soil particle was not changed but the proportion was changed in saline soil. It was also found that calcium oxide reduced soil moisture and influenced the acidity of soil by increasing the pH from 3.39 to 6.92 in acidic soil, and 6.49 to 9.11 in saline soil. In addition, it was found that the electrical conductivity of the soil was related to salinity. In acidic soil, the conductivity of before and after inputting calcium oxide were 0.87 and 1.24 dS/m, respectively. In the case of saline soil, the conductivity of before and after improvement were 14.37 and 18.80 dS/m, respectively. Besides, it was found that the total content of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were reduced after the experiment.