Hernández Matos, Imiraily

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    Phyto-viability on restored land with coal ash aggregates as backfilling amendments
    (2009) Hernández Matos, Imiraily; Hwang, Sangchul; College of Engineering; Segarra, Rafael; Bogere, Mosés; Department of Civil Engineering; Huérfano Moreno, Víctor A.
    One of the main concerns of people in today’s world is the protection of the environment. Unnecessary constructions, inadequate waste management, and heavy transportation are the main causes of the deterioration of what is known as “green” environment. Due to increasing population, the demand for construction materials such as sand and gravel has increased over time. These basic materials are being used for concrete, filling, plumbing and for other purposes. An alternative engineering method for conserving the environment was studied in order to restore the disturbed lands with available soils and coal ash aggregates (CAAs). Seed germination in the presence of manufactured CAAs was evaluated in order to assess the rate of growth of dissimilar plants in the restored land with the CAAs. The influence of the presence of CAAs on bacteorological and enzymatic activities in the rhizosphere was quantified. Various experimental methods were developed. First, systems were prepared to evaluate the development of seeds (beans and pumpkins) using water from the water infiltrated through the CAAs. The growth of the plants in the systems with various factors such as backfilling ratio (soil and CAAs), layered or mixed application of the CAAs, type of water (rain or tap water), and type of seeds (bean or pumpkin), was observed. In addition, potential physical and chemical influences of the CAAs addition on the growth of such different plants were studied for beans, pumpkins, botellas and papayas. Later, a system was designed to assess the number of total heterotrophic bacteria and the activity of soil dehydrogenase in the rhizosphere in the presence and absence of the CAAs. Experimental results indicated that the CAAs could be used as backfilling amendments for an open pit restoration to bio-viable land. There were no negative impacts on the germination and growth of the plants due to the presence of the CAAs. In some cases, the CAAs enhanced the germination and growth of the plants. Therefore, the CAAs can be utilized for restoration of disturbed lands to bio-viable ones, conserving environmental resources and achieving waste minimization.