HEAVY METAL REMOVAL BY ZEOLITE IN TOMATO CULTIVATION USING COMPOST

The biodegradable organic fraction of domestic refuse originating from the Attica region, was recovered and was used for compost producion in an open system, ventilated through periodic mixing of the substrate.

The metals Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Mn were determined in the compost produced which was next used for the cultivation of tomato in pots under experimental green house conditions.

In the above cultivation, natural zeolite, clinoptilolite, was used, in various proportions with compost and soil.
The ability of the zeolite for the metal uptake present in the compost was examined by the determination of the metals in the leaves, bodies, crops and roots of the plants.

The experimental results presented in this work indicate that the plants contain lower values of metals when the cultivation is performed using zeolite together with compost and soil.
It was also observed that the cultivations were better in the cases where higher proportions of zeolite were used.

International Symposium on Compost Recycling of Wastes

E.G. Kapetanios, M. Loizidou

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1992.302.6