High-quality, ecologically sound remediation of acidic soil using bicarbonate-rich swine wastewater

The swine industry in China is experiencing a wastewater crisis. In this work, we found that swine wastewaters were particularly high in bicarbonate (1.52–9.25 g/L, mean = 5.68 g/L, n = 42). The high level of bicarbonate may add to the pollution load during discharge. We therefore suggest a new method for bicarbonate-rich wastewater remediation in acidic soil. In our laboratory irrigation experiments, wastewater irrigation efficiently increased the pH and decreased the exchangeable aluminum in the acidic soil. Furthermore, the wastewater method efficiently remediated the entire soil body, while lime application remediated only a portion of the topsoil. Wastewater irrigation also improved soil fertility (e.g., by increasing the phosphorus availability in acid soil).