Research on saline-alkali soil amelioration with FGD gypsum

Flue gas desulfurization (simplified as FGD) gypsum, a kind of byproduct from wet FGD process of coal-fired power plants, was used to ameliorate saline-alkali soil. The FGD gypsum can react with the main content of saline-alkali soil to improve the soil properties. The technology has been applied for around 120 km2 in China with impressive results. Detailed field studies showed the productivity of the plants grown in the ameliorated soil increased a lot, and also the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil improved evidently. Both field and laboratory studies showed the technology is safe considering the heavy metal concentration in the soil and plants grown on it. The SOC (soil organic carbon) analysis revealed that the saline-alkali soil amelioration can fix more carbon, so contributing to the global warming mitigation. It was concluded that the saline-alkali soil amelioration with FGD gypsum is a promising technology, and worthy of widely application in the world.