Use of filter cake powder for enhancing soil stability of active sand dunes

Irit Rutman-Halili, Tehila Zvulun, Natali Elgabsi, Revaya Cohen, Shlomo Sarig, Jiftach Ben-Asher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Filter cake powder (FCP) is a residual material and the main solid waste of sugar production from sugarcane. This material contains high concentrations of polysaccharides and fats. FCP has previously been shown to act as a soil improver. Active sand dunes (ASD) in arid and semiarid regions, cover agriculture fields, and cause significant damage to field crops and livelihood. Therefore, it is necessary to find a treatment which would improve ADS soil stability. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are communities of living organisms on the_soil_surface in_arid_and_semi-arid_ecosystems. It was clearly shown that metabolic polysaccharides secreted by biocrust cyanobacteria, glue the soil particles to aggregates which form the crust layer, thereby stabilizing the soil surface. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of FCP on ASD stability. We hypothesized that the addition of FCP to the ASD surface would enhance soil polysaccharide content, and that this would lead to soil stabilization improvement. The degree of soil stability was determined using penetration resistance soil biocrust (PRSB) measurements. It was found that FCP treatment increased PRSB significantly when compared with control. These results suggest that FCP can be used as a soil stability enhancing agent in ASD.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)252-257
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Solid Waste Technology and Management
Volume46
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 May 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Active sand dunes
  • Biological soil crusts
  • Filter cake powder
  • Penetration resistance soil biocrust

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Waste Management and Disposal

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