Asbestos cement waste treatment through mechanochemical process with KH2PO4 for its utilization in soil pH correction and nutrient delivery

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 29; no. 19; pp. 28804 - 28815
• Main Authors: Borges, Roger, Giroto, Amanda S., Guimarães, Gelton G. F., Reis, Heitor P. G., Farinas, Cristiane S., Ribeiro, Caue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-04-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Asbestos; Asbestos cement; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Cement; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Limestone; Liming; Nutrient utilization; Phosphorus; Potassium; Potassium phosphate; Potassium phosphates; Research Article; Slow release fertilizers; Soil chemistry; Soil conditioners; Soil conditions; Soil pH; Soils; Toxicity; Waste treatment; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Liming; Asbestos cement detoxification; Slow-release fertilizer; Mechanochemical treatment
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-17679-w

The manufacture of asbestos materials has been banished worldwide due to their toxicity, but discarding the existing wastes remains a challenge. We investigated an alternative mechanochemical method to treat asbestos-cement materials by loading them with potassium and phosphorus from KH
2
PO
4
during the milling process to obtain a product used as liming and soil conditioner. The results showed total asbestos fibrous elimination after 7 to 8 h of milling. The materials showed a slow-release fertilizer profile. The liming property is maintained when the asbestos-cement weight proportion used is equal to or higher than KH
2
PO
4
. A comparative soil experiment with limestone also indicates that lower doses of the K- and P-enriched detoxified asbestos cement were required to reach similar liming effects. Maize cultivation (greenhouse) was used to evaluate its performance showing higher biomass production for the sample loaded with potassium and phosphorous.