LIFE Project code: LIFE+10 ENV/IT/ Action 8b Parco Delta - Deliverable

Transcription

1 WATER POLLUTION REDUCTION AND WATER SAVING USING A NATURAL ZEOLITITE CYCLE LIFE Project Code: LIFE+10/ENV/IT/ Notice Boards Deliverable product of the Ente regionale per i Parchi e la Biodiversità Delta del Po ER Code of the associated Action: 8b Deadline: 30/01/2013 Lucilla Previati Maria Cristina Veratelli

2 ANNEX 7.22 NOTICE BOARDS, ROLL-UPS, FLAGS AND PLATES 1. NOTICE BOARDS Two equal generic notice boards appear respectively by the experimental field and by the prototype. Two different specific notice boards appear respectively by the experimental field and by the prototype. So it has been produced three different types of notice boards. 1 The generic notice board installed in a pre-fixed geo-referentiated point, given by the Coordinating Beneficiary, located near the experimental field, with (first image) and without (second image) project s flag. 2

3 The generic notice board installed in a pre-fixed geo-referentiated point, given by the Coordinating Beneficiary, located near the prototype. 3

4 Overview of the project s experimental field located in the farm Amadori in territory of the Municipality of Codigoro. 4

5 The specific notice board for the experimental field, installed in a pre-fixed geo-referentiated point, given by the Coordinating Beneficiary. The specific notice board for the prototype, installed in a pre-fixed geo-referentiated point, given by the Coordinating Beneficiary 5

6 The graphic image of the generic notice-board. Each panel measures 300 cm x 200 cm, plus two support puncheons of height 100 cm. 6

7 The text included in the generic notice board is the following: The project Zeolife was designed to test an innovative integrated cycle of the zeolitites, with the purpose of decreasing the contribution of nitrogen fertilizers and water irrigation in agriculture, resulting in reduction of nitrate pollution and use of water resources. The zeolitite is a rock of volcanic origin, then a natural material, rich of zeolite minerals with high cation exchange capacity when immersed in a solution. The used zeolitites, coming from a quarry in central Italy (Sorano, GR), are naturally rich in potassium and water, and are "loaded" with NH4 + (ammonium ion, which, oxidized to nitrate form, becomes a source of nitrogen for plants) thanks to contact with pig slurry. After the treatment also such sewage also are poorer in ammonium and therefore more easily disposable. Sparse in right quantity in agricultural fields, the zeolitites loaded with NH4 + act as a slow release fertilizer: they are not washed away by rains, but give the nutrients only in contact with the roots of plants, improving productive yields and avoiding the dispersion of nitrogen in the surface and deep water system. The correction of farmland with zeolitite can also represent a defense against desertification caused by climate change and overexploitation of the soil. Zeolites in fact contain water in the crystal grid and the chemical changes that trigger with humic acids allow the solubilization of phosphates, primarily responsible for the formation of hard crusts that prevent infiltration of water. 7

8 The graphic image of the experimental field specific notice-board. 8

9 The text included in the experimental field specific notice board is the following: The zeolitites are natural volcanic rocks containing more than 50% of zeolite, a type of mineral with unique physical and chemical properties (high and selective cation exchange capacity: Cation Exchange Capacity or CEC; molecular absorption; reversible dehydration). The zeolites are able to capture NH4 + (ammonium ion) from the solutions and subsequently release it to the roots of the plants in a gradual manner. The characteristics of zeolitites and their ability to adjust the water content in soils allow a reduction in both the quantity of fertilizer and the quantity of water normally used for irrigation. The project proposes the experiment in open field, by Codigoro in the province of Ferrara, of the integrated cycle of zeolitites, for two years of cultivation (sorghum-corn). The experimental field was divided into six plots: two of these are cultivated in a traditional way; in two other zeolitite is added in the natural state and fertirrigation will be reduced by 20 and 40% in proportion to the quantities of zeolitite used. The zeolitite loaded with ammonium in the prototype is added in a further area, where it will release the nutrient only for cation exchange, induced by humic acids of plant roots and in proportion to the real needs of the crops. Here fertirrigation will be reduced by over 50%. The last plot is left uncultivated in the first year, and will be used in the second year of cultivation. Direct consequence of the use of zeolitite in agriculture is the reduction of nitrate load that is placed in the water system and watersaving irrigation. The reduction in the amount of nitrogen in the hydrogeological system is verified creating a hydro-geochemical budget that takes into account the quantity and quality of water in and out of the camp, with monitoring of the chemical composition of the soil, pore waters, ground waters and surface waters (drains and collector channels), for the entire duration of the trial.

10 The graphic image of the prototype specific notice-board. LIFE Project code: LIFE+10 ENV/IT/ Action 8b Parco Delta - Deliverable

11 The text included in the prototype specific notice board is the following: CATION-EXCHANGE OF ZEOLITE In the structure of the zeolites, the compensator cations (Na, K, Ca, etc.) present in channels and cavities are linked to the tetrahedral scaffold by forces not big enough to prevent their escape if the zeolite is in contact with a solution containing cations able to replace them, therefore involving the same number of positive charges. If, for example, a zeolite containing Na is put in contact with a solution containing NH4 (eg. a zootecnical slurry), the zeolite Na goes into solution being replaced within the structure by NH4 until equilibration between the composition of the zeolite and the one of the solution. The project ZeoLIFE experiences an integrated cycle of zeolitites in order to reduce the use of water and fertilizers in agriculture. The selected zeolitites are volcanic rocks containing more than 60% of zeolites of the type chabasite, a mineral naturally rich in potassium and water, and having particular physicchemical properties, such as doffing and selective ability to exchange cations (Cation Exchange Capacity or CEC) and reversible dehydration. Immersed in a liquid rich in ammonium ion (NH4 +) as the pig slurry, this mineral is able to capture it within its crystal lattice. In this way the ammonium content of the slurry will became lower and the zeolitite will be enriched with nitrogen, which can subsequently be released to the roots of the plants in a gradual manner. In this project the zeolitite is used in the form of fine sand (<3 mm), recovered from the processing waste of a brick quarry of Central Italy (Sorano, GR). Laboratory tests allowed us to identify a method of loading and determine the optimal parameters (ratio zeolitite/slurry, particle size of the material, stirring and rest time) so that the zeolitite capture the greatest possible amount of NH4. These parameters are used in the prototype built to produce loaded zeolitite on a large scale. The prototype consists of a cylindrical tank in which the zeolitite is introduced together with the slurry pumped from the second storage tank of the breeding wastewater. Inside the tank a mechanical vertical agitator stirs the material bringing the zeolitite in suspension which is then allowed to settle to achieve the balance of the exchange reaction. At the end of the process the slurry is re-entered back into the first storage tank, while the zeolitite enriched in ammonium is unloaded at the base of the tank on a vibrating screen which allows the separation of the residual liquid from the solid, which is then accumulated in a special container. The zeolitite is then ready to be spread in the experimental field and buried by plowing. A daily cycle can produce an average of 300 kg of zeolitite loaded with ammonium.

12 LIFE Project code: LIFE+10 ENV/IT/ Action 8b Parco Delta - Deliverable 2. ROLL-UPS The indoor roll-up distributed to each project s partner, which measures cm 100 x cm

13 Here is the text included in the indoor roll-up: The project ZeoLIFE was designed to test an innovative integrated cycle of zeolitites, whose purpose is to reduce the content of NH4 in the sewage produced by livestock and correct agricultural soils, with a consequent increase of the harvest and saving of water for irrigation and fertilizers, leading to a reduction of pollution of freshwater and groundwater and of over-exploitation of water resources. The project s propose is the testing in open field (periphery of Codigoro, FE) of the integrated cycle of zeolites, for two years of cultivation. It is planned the realization of a prototype for the treatment of pig slurry: the zeolitite, once reached the cation balance with the sewage, will be removed and added to an experimental parcel of farmland, where it will release the nutrient NH4 only when the roots of plants require it, without suffering the effects of washout. The zeolitites are natural rocks that contain more than 50% of zeolite, a type of mineral with unique physical and chemical properties, such as high and selective cation exchange capacity, molecular absorption and reversible dehydration. The zeolitites are able to take NH4 from the solutions and of releasing it gradually to the roots of plants. 13

14 Photos of the indoor roll-up exposed by the annual international fair Slow Fish held in Genova, Ancient Port, from 9 to 12 may

15 2. FLAGS The graphic image of the Zeolife project s flag, realized in outdoor canvas, with dimensions 160 cm x 110 cm. An image of the project s flag. 15

16 2. PLATES The graphic image of the Zeolife project s plate, which measures 40 cm x 30 cm. 16

17 The Zeolife project s plate handed to every partner - exposed by the entrance of the seat of the partner Ente di Gestione per i Parchi e la Biodiversità-Delta del Po. 17