Physicochemical properties and radiological hazards evaluations of some inorganic materials used in soilless agriculture

EKE C., ÖZAYDIN ÖZKARA R.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, cilt.43, sa.2, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 43 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1002/ep.14283
  • Dergi Adı: ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, PASCAL, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), Biotechnology Research Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Compendex, Computer & Applied Sciences, Environment Index, Greenfile, INSPEC, Pollution Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: inorganic materials, physicochemical properties, radiological properties, radionuclides, soilless agriculture
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study aims to examine the physicochemical and radiological properties of some inorganic materials which are perlite, vermiculite, pumice, rock wool, zeolite, expanded clay aggregate, volcanic tuff, and sepiolite used in soilless agriculture. Water saturation, pH, electrical conductivity, calcium carbonate equivalent, available potassium, available phosphorus, and organic matter analyses were implemented for inorganic materials. The elemental contents of the components for studied inorganic materials were obtained using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Furthermore, natural and artificial radionuclides of studied inorganic materials were calculated using gamma-ray spectrometry. The pumice has the highest 226Ra activity concentration, and the zeolite has the highest 232Th and 40K activity concentrations. The 137Cs activity concentration is the maximum for perlite and it is the minimum for expanded clay aggregate. The zeolite has the highest radiological hazard parameters whereas those are the smallest for the rock wool. The Fe, Na, B, Ca, K, Si, P, S, and Mn are the primary components of the inorganic materials used in soilless agriculture. Consequently, this study is contributed to environmental and health problems of livings. In the future, transferred radionuclides from plant to livings assessment can be carried out for these inorganic materials used in soilless agriculture.