PHOSPHORUS IN ALUM AMENDED POULTRY LITTER SYSTEMS

120 Pages·2005·1.59 MB·English

PHOSPHORUS IN ALUM AMENDED POULTRY LITTER SYSTEMS:
DISTRIBUTION, SPECIATION, AND
INTERACTIONS WITH ALUMINUM OXIDES

by

Kristin Estelle Staats

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Plant and Soil Science

Summer 2005

Copyright 2005 Kristin Estelle Staats
All Rights Reserved
UMI Number: 1428255
UMI Microform1428255
Copyright2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.
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PHOSPHORUS IN ALUM AMENDED POULTRY LITTER SYSTEMS:
DISTRIBUTION, SPECIATION, AND
INTERACTIONS WITH ALUMINUM OXIDES

by

Kristin Estelle Staats

Approved: __________________________________________________________
Donald L. Sparks, Ph.D.
Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee

Approved: __________________________________________________________
Donald L. Sparks, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences

Approved: __________________________________________________________
Robin Morgan, Ph.D.
Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Approved: __________________________________________________________
Conrado M. Gempesaw II, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Academic and International Programs
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Throughout the three years that it took to complete this degree, there have
been a few people that have repeatedly pulled me up by armpits when I thought that I
did not have what it took to be a graduate student.
First of all, I owe a huge “Thank You!” to Dr. Sparks for giving me the
freedom to be whatever kind of student I wanted to be. Not that this was always easy,
but it definitely taught me some invaluable lessons about work ethic and motivation.
And where would I be without the help of Jerry? How many different
ways can one mount chicken poop to a piece of plastic with adhesive tape? At what
point during a beam trip does my laughter turn from funny to frightening? How much
meat can the Sultan’s Kitchen fit on one plate? All of these questions can be answered
by the man himself.
There have been many students who have come and gone in the seven
years I have been in the Sparks’ group, all of whom have shaped the way I view
academic careers, science, and life in general. Without these friendships, I’m not sure
how anyone would finish a graduate degree. Thanks to all of my officemates,
roommates, and group members for keeping me laughing, lending an ear when things
got ugly, and offering help with all stages of my research.
I have also had a precious handful of family who kept me grounded and
provided a lot of encouragement and support. Crystal and Eric give me a “home
base,” where I can show up, raid the cabinets, do laundry and be guaranteed a good,
hard laugh. I am not quite sure where I’d be without the consistency you have
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provided. Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop Staats always remind me that I’m loved, no matter
what, and that everything is a little greener on the farm. One of the toughest ladies
that I know, my mom, has faced some incredible challenges in life—and some how
she always shows up smiling, willing to give the shirt on her back to help. She has
proven to me, one day at a time, that anything is possible.
And Mike, do you remember this quote by our good friend Wendell
Berry?: “…[W]hen you leave familiar ground and step off alone to a new place, there
will be, along with feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is
the ancient fear of the unknown…. What you are doing is exploring. You are
understanding the first experience, not of the place, but of yourself in that place. It is
the experience of our essential loneliness, for nobody can discover the world for
anybody else. It is only after we have discovered it for ourselves that it becomes
common ground, and a common bond, and we cease to be alone” (1991). So it is my
time to explore myself in a new place, and have new experiences. I prefer to think of
it as temporary, “essential aloneness,” because with the love and friendship that we
share, I could never be lonely. Thank you for giving me the courage to find and be
myself.
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To Buster
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................ix
LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................................x
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................xii

Chapter 1.0

LITERATURE REVIEW...............................................................................................1

1.1 Phosphorus and Eutrophication.................................................................1
1.2 Nutrient Management Legislation.............................................................3
1.3 Environmental Sources and Cycles of Phosphorus...................................5

1.3.1 Natural Sources.............................................................................5

1.3.1.1 Organic Phosphorus........................................................5
1.3.1.2 Inorganic Phosphorus.....................................................6

1.3.2 Anthropogenic Additions..............................................................8
1.3.3 Phosphorus Cycles in the Soil and Atmosphere............................9

1.4 Phosphorus Interactions with Environmental Media..............................11

1.4.1 Phosphorus Adsorption and Desorption......................................11

1.4.1.1 Phosphorus Adsorption on Clays and Metal
Oxides ....................................................................12
1.4.1.2 Phosphorus Adsorption on Soils..................................16
1.4.1.3 Phosphate Desorption...................................................17
1.4.1.4. Phosphorus Adsorption in the Presence of
Organics........................................................................19

1.5 Poultry Litter: Phosphorus and Chemical Amendments.........................21

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Chapter 2.0

XANES SPECTROSCOPY STUDY OF PHOSPHORUS FORMS REMOVED
FROM ALUM-AMENDED POULTRY LITTER DURING
SEQUENTIAL EXTRACTIONS.....................................................................24

2.1 Introduction.............................................................................................24
2.2 Materials and Methods............................................................................27
2.2.1 Sample Characterization..............................................................27
2.2.2 Sequential Extraction of Phosphorus..........................................29
2.2.3 Spectoscopic Analysis.................................................................29
2.2.4 Data analysis................................................................................31

2.3 Results and Discussion............................................................................32

2.3.1 Characterization and Sequential Extractions...............................32
2.3.2 Principle Component Analysis and Linear Combination
Fitting ......................................................................................34

2.4 Conclusions.............................................................................................38
2.5 Tables .....................................................................................................40
2.6 Figures .....................................................................................................42

Chapter 3.0

PHOSPHATE AND OXALATE SORPTION ONTO AMORPHOUS
ALUMINUM OXIDE......................................................................................49

3.1 Introduction.............................................................................................49
3.2 Materials and Methods............................................................................52

3.2.1 Aluminum Oxide Synthesis and Characterization......................52
3.2.2 Batch Phosphate and Oxalate Sorption Reactions......................53
3.2.3 ATR-FTIR Experiments and Data Analysis...............................55

3.3 Results and Discussion............................................................................57

3.3.1 Aluminum Oxide Characterization.............................................57
3.3.2 Batch Phosphate and Oxalate Sorption Reactions......................58
3.3.3 ATR-FTIR Experiments..............................................................62

3.3.3.1 Aqueous Standards.......................................................62
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3.3.3.2 Static Sorption Experiments and Gaussian Fitting.......63
3.3.3.3 Flow Cell Preadsorption Experiments..........................64
3.3.3.4 Flow Cell Coadsorption Experiments..........................66

3.4 Conclusions.............................................................................................67
3.5 Tables .....................................................................................................69
3.6 Figures .....................................................................................................71

Chapter 4.0

FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS...................................................................................90

4.1 Summary and Future Research Needs.....................................................90

REFERENCES CITED................................................................................................93
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 Elemental Analysis for the <841µm fraction of all PL samples.............40
Table 2.2 Target Transformation results for alum amended and control PL samples.
.................................................................................................................41

Table 3.1 Summary of FTIR peak positions for phosphate sorption onto aluminum
oxide from experimental and theoretical modeling done in this study................69
Table 3.2 Summary of FTIR peak positions for oxalate sorption onto aluminum
oxides from this and previous work.....................................................................70

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