Heavy metal enrichment of soil irrigated with paper and board mill (PBM) effluents

Abstract

The usage of industrial effluents for agricultural purposes has become common practice both in developing and developed countries. Industrial effluents may add significant amount of nutrients for the nourishment of soil. However, the presence of various pollutants in effluents may deteriorate physicochemical nature of soil. The current study presents the effect of different proportions (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) of PBM effluents containing heavy metals on physicochemical properties of soil. These soil samples were analyzed at regular intervals of 30, 60 and 90 days. The findings of the study indicate that lower proportions (20 and 40%) of PBM effluents may be preferred for long-term irrigation. On the other hand, higher proportions (60, 80 and 100 %) of PBM effluents may cause adverse effects on physicochemical characteristics of soil within short duration of irrigation.