Effect of industrial by-products containing electron acceptors on mitigating methane emission during rice cultivation

Three industrial by-products (fly ash, phosphogypsum and blast furnace slag), were evaluated for their potential re-use as soil amendments to reduce methane (CH4) emission resulting from rice cultivation. In laboratory incubations, CH4 production rates from anoxic soil slurries were significantly reduced at amendment levels of 0.5%, 1%, 2% and 5% (wt wt−1), while observed CO2 production rates were enhanced. The level of suppression in methane production was the highest for phosphogypsum, followed by blast slag and then fly ash. In the greenhouse experiment, CH4 emission rates from the rice planted potted soils significantly decreased with the increasing levels (2–20 Mg ha−1) of the selected amendments applied, while rice yield simultaneously increased compared to the control treatment. At 10 Mg ha−1 application level of the amendments, total seasonal CH4 emissions were reduced by 20%, 27% and 25%, while rice grain yields were increased by 17%, 15% and 23% over the control with fly ash, phosphogypsum, and blast slag amendments, respectively. The suppression of CH4 production rates as well as total seasonal CH4 flux could be due to the increased concentrations of active iron, free iron, manganese oxides, and sulfate in the amended soil, which acted as electron acceptors and controlled methanogens’ activity by limiting substrates availability. Among the amendments, blast furnace slag and fly ash contributed mainly to improve the soil nutrients balance and increased the soil pH level towards neutral point, but soil acidity was developed with phosphogypsum application. Conclusively, blast slag among the selected amendments would be a suitable soil amendment for reducing CH4 emissions as well as sustaining rice productivity.