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Forest fertilizer properties of the bottom ash and fly ash from a large-sized (115
MW) industrial power plant incinerating wood-based biomass residues

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 H. Nurmesniemi,
Journal of the University K. Manskinen,
of Chemical TechnologyR.and
Pöykiö, O. Dahl47, 1, 2012, 43-52
Metallurgy,

FOREST FERTILIZER PROPERTIES OF THE BOTTOM ASH AND FLY ASH

FROM A LARGE-SIZED (115 MW) INDUSTRIAL POWER PLANT INCINERATING
WOOD-BASED BIOMASS RESIDUES
H. Nurmesniemi1, K. Manskinen2, R. Pöykiö3, O. Dahl4

1
Stora Enso Oyj, Veitsiluoto Mill, FI- 94800 Kemi, Received 18 October 2011
Finland Accepted 10 January 2012
2
Stora Enso Oyj, Heinola Fluting Mill, FI-18101 Heinola,
Finland
3
City of Kemi, Valtakatu 26, FI- 94100 Kemi, Finland,
E-mail: risto.poykio@kemi.fi
4
Aalto University, School of Chemical Technology,
Department of Forest Products Technology,
P.O. Box 16300, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland

ABSTRACT

The bottom ash and fly ash investigated in this study originated from the large-sized (115 MW) combustion plant of
a pulp and board mill complex. This combustion plant uses a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boiler for energy production.
During the sampling period, when the bottom ash was sampled from the outlet of the boiler and the fly ash from the
boiler‘s electrostatic precipitator (ESP), approximately 97% or the energy produced by the BFB boiler originated from the
incineration of clean forest residues (i.e. bark, woodchips and sawdust), and 3% from the incineration of sludge from the
primary clarifier of a wastewater treatment plant. The current Finnish legislation, which regulates the utilization of ash in
forestry, sets minimum or maximum concentration limit values for Ca, the sum of phosphorous and potassium, as well as
for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Ni and Zn. Although the total element concentrations in fly ash were between 1.5 (K) and 40
(Cd) times higher than those in bottom ash, all element concentrations, as well as the sum of the phosphorous and
potassium concentration in the bottom ash and fly ash, fulfilled the requirements of the Finnish fertilizer act for forest
fertilizer, which came into force on 13 September 2011.
Keywords: Ash, fertilizer, fluidized bed boiler, forest industry, waste.

INTRODUCTION sawdust, or wastewater treatment plant residuals (mill

In the forest industry, energy derived from biomass
burned in boilers, recovery furnaces and other
combustion devices is an important component of the
total energy needed to produce various products.
Biomass combustion in boilers typically involves the
burning of wood residues and residuals from
manufacturing operations that include bark, wood chips,
sludge) mixed together [1-3]. Energy generation from
biomass is an environmentally sound alternative to fossil
fuels, since a particular advantage of the use of wood
bioenergy is that it could significantly reduce the
formation of CO 2 emissions. In addition, due to
enormous demands for the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions in the area of the European Union (EU), 20%
by 2020, and the consequently increasing use of

43
 Journal of the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 47, 1, 2012
renewable energy sources, the utilization of carbon
neutral fuels such as wood-based biomass will
dramatically increase in the near future. However, a
disadvantage of energy production from biomass is the
generation of large amounts of ashes of different kinds
(i.e. bottom ash and fly ash), which are traditionally
disposed of at landfill sites.
In Finland, the forest industry, together with ther-
mal and electric power plants, produce 200 000 to
300 000 tonnes of ash annually. Half of this ash is from
wood and bark and the other half from fuel peat and
coal. Nearly 70 % of the energy generated by the power
plants in the Finnish forest industry originates from the
burning of wood material [4-5]. Although the majority
of the ash is reused, part of the ash is still disposed of in
the industry‘s own or in municipal landfills [6-7].
However, the increasing costs of landfill disposal, both
in the form of waste tax or the deposit fee, as well as
difficulties in acquiring new sites for disposal and the
stricter EU landfill directives that have been issued during
the recent years, have been the driving forces in
minimizing the amount of solid wastes arising for
disposal [8]. Due to the above-mentioned facts, the need
for recycling options for ash has become increasingly
urgent in Finland, and there is therefore a growing trend
towards the utilization of industrial residues in the
Finnish forest industry [9]. In the context of increasing
bioenergy production, the recycling of ashes in forestry
may solve the problem of ash disposal and reduce the
necessity for commercial fertilizer application [10].
In Finland, national legislation regulates the
utilization of ash in forestry. According to Finnish
fertilizer legislation, which came into force in July 2009,
minimum or maximum limit values are set only for the
total concentration of chloride (Cl), the sum of the
phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) concentration, the
calcium (Ca) concentration, and for the concentrations
of certain heavy metals (i.e. As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn
and Hg) [11]. In this study, we concentrated on the most
important physical and chemical properties in the
bottom ash and fly ash originating from the power plant
(115 MW) of a pulp and board mill located in Finland.
We only focused on those physical and chemical
properties, nutrient or heavy metal concentrations for
which minimum or maximum limit values are currently
set in Finland for ashes used as a forest fertilizer. This
44
study formed part of a major project focusing on reduc-
ing, reusing and recycling various ash materials origi-
nating from Finnish pulp and paper mills incinerating
different fuel mixtures. Our previous studies have fo-
cused on the physical and properties of the bottom and
fly ash originating from industrial or municipal power
plants incinerating a mixture of forest residues (i.e. bark,
wood chip and sawdust), peat or/and coal [11-13]. How-
ever, in this study we investigated for the first time the
physical and chemical properties of the bottom and fly
ash originating from a Finnish pulp and board mill in-
cinerating a mixture of forest residues (i.e. bark, wood
chip and sawdust) and the sludge from the primary clari-
fier of a wastewater treatment plant, which is mostly
composed of the wood-based fibres. Thus, in practice,
the bottom ash and fly ash investigated in this study
originated from the incineration of wood-based biom-
ass residues.
EXPERIMENTAL
Bottom and fly ash sampling
The bottom ash and fly ash investigated in this
study originated from the large-sized (115 MW)
combustion plant of a pulp and board mill complex.
This combustion plant uses a bubbling fluidized bed
(BFB) boiler for energy production. During the sampling
period, when the bottom ash was sampled from the outlet
of the boiler and the fly ash from the boiler‘s electrostatic
precipitator (ESP), approximately 97 % of the energy
produced by the BFB boiler originated from the
incineration of clean forest residues (i.e. bark, woodchips
and sawdust), and 3 % from the incineration of sludge
from the primary clarifier of a wastewater treatment
plant. These forest residues originated from the wood
handling plant and sawmill of the pulp and board mill
complex investigated in this study, and they were
therefore clean residues. Approximately 60 % of the
forest residues comprised pine (Pinus sylvestris) trees,
30 % were willow (Salix) and 10 % birch (Betula
verrucosa and B. pubescens).
Sampling of the ashes was carried out over a pe-
riod of three days, and the individual samples (1 kg per
sampling day) were combined to give one composite
sample with a weight of 3 kg for both the bottom ash
and fly ash. The sampling period represented normal
process operating conditions for the combustion plant,
 H. Nurmesniemi, K. Manskinen, R. Pöykiö, O. Dahl
e.g. in terms of O2 content and temperature. The incin-
eration temperature in a bubbling fluidized bed boiler
is ca. 800°C, while in the electrostatic precipitator it is
ca. 176°C. After sampling, the samples were stored in
plastic bags in a refrigerator (+4°C). A coning and quar-
tering method [14] was repeatedly applied to reduce
the ash sample to a size suitable for conducting
laboratory analyses.
Determination of the mineral composition, pH, dry
matter content and neutralizing value of the ashes
To determine the mineralogical composition of
the bottom ash and fly ash, X-ray diffractograms of
powdered samples were obtained with a Siemens D 5000
diffractometer (Siemens AG, Karlsruhe, Germany) using
CuKá radiation. The scan was run from 2 to 80° (2-
theta scale), with increments of 0.02° and a counting
time of 1.0 second per step. The operating conditions
were 40 kV and 40 mA. Peak identification was carried
out with the DIFFRACplus BASIC Evaluation Package
PDFMaint 12 (Bruker axs, Germany) and the software
package ICDD PDF-2 Release 2006 (Pennsylvania,
USA). The pH of the ashes was determined using a pH/
EC analyser equipped with a Thermo Orion Sure Flow
pH electrode (Turnhout, Belgium). The determination
of pH was carried out according to European standard
SFS-EN 12880 at a solid-to-liquid (i.e. ultrapure H2O)
ratio of 1:5. Determination of the dry matter content of
the ashes was carried out according to European standard
SFS-EN 12880, in which a sample is dried overnight to
a constant mass in an oven at 105°C. The neutralizing
(liming effect) value was determined according to
European standard SFS-EN 12945. A comprehensive
review of the standards, analytical methods and
instrumentation is presented in our previous paper [13].
Determination of the total chloride and water-soluble
phosphorous concentrations of the ashes
Determination of the total chloride concentra-
tion of the ashes was carried out according to European
standard CEN/TS 15289. In this procedure, the ash is
extracted with HNO3 in a CEM Mars 5 microprocessor-
controlled microwave oven with CEM HP 500 Teflon
vessels (CEM Corp., Matthews, USA) at 120°C for 1
hour. The concentration of chloride in the extract was
determined with a Dionex DX500 ion chromatography
system (Dionex Corp., U.S.A.). Before the nutrient
determination, samples were dried overnight to constant
mass at 105°C in a drying oven (Termaks) according to
European standard SFS-EN 12880. Determination of the
water-soluble phosphorous concentration in the ashes was
carried out according to European standard CEN/TS
15105. In this procedure, the ash is heated with water in
a closed container at 120°C for 1 hour. The concentra-
tion of phosphorous in the extract was determined with a
Thermo Fisher Scientific iCAP6500 Duo (United
Kingdom) inductively coupled plasma optical emission
spectrometer (ICP-OES). A more comprehensive review
of the standards, analytical methods and instrumentation
is provided in our previous paper [13].
Determination of the total nutrient and heavy metal
concentrations in the ashes
To determine the total nutrient (Ca, Mg, P and K)
and total heavy metal concentrations (B, As, Cd, Cr, Cu,
Hg, Pb, Ni and Zn) in the ashes, the dried samples were
digested with a mixture of HCl (3 mL) and HNO3 (9
mL) in a CEM Mars 5 microprocessor-controlled
microwave oven with a CEM HP 500 Teflon vessels (CEM
Corp., Matthews, USA) using USEPA method 3051A
[15]. The cooled solutions were transferred to 100 mL
volumetric flasks and the solutions were diluted to volume
with ultrapure water. The ultrapure water was generated
by an Elgastat Prima reverse osmosis and Elgastat Maxima
ion exchange water purification system (Elga Ltd; Bucks,
England). All reagents and acids were suprapure or pro
analysis quality. Apart from Hg, the total heavy metal
concentrations in ashes were determined with a Thermo
Fisher Scientific iCAP6500 Duo ICP-OES (United
Kingdom). The concentration of Hg in the ash was
determined with a Perkin Elmer Aanalyst 700 cold-vapour
AAS equipped with a Perkin Elmer FIAS 400 and AS
90 plus auto-sampler. A more comprehensive review of
the standards, analytical method and instrumentation is
provided in our previous paper [13].
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Mineral composition, nutrients and physical and
chemical properties of the ashes
The XRD spectra in Figure 1(A,B) shows the
similarities and differences between the mineral
composition of bottom ash and fly ash, whereas the Table
45
 Journal of the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 47, 1, 2012
1 presents the their mineral formulas and abundances
(%) in the ashes. It can be seen that only silicate minerals
(albite, biotite, microcline and quartz) existed in the
bottom ash. Although silicate minerals such as albite
and quartz were also present in the fly ash, this ash
additionally contained carbonate minerals (calcite and
calcium magnesium carbonate), oxides (hematite and
lime) and anhydrite, which is a sulphate mineral. The
existence of silicate minerals in the bottom ash
originating from the bubbling fluidized bed boiler is
reasonable when considering that the bed material of a
fluidized bed boiler usually consists of silica sand [16].
The silicate minerals in these ash fractions may also be
partly due to sand and soil particle contamination of
forest residues during harvesting, transportation and
handling [17]. In addition, it may partly derive from the
decomposition of plant tissue-derived Si-based minerals
during incineration, such as phytolith (SiO2 × nH2O),
which is often a structural component of plant tissues,
deposited between and within plant cells [18]. The
minerals of our ashes are partly consistent with the
findings of Steenari and Lindqvist [17], who also observed
anhydrite (CaSO4), calcite (CaCO3), lime (CaO) and
quartz (SiO2) in wood ash, as we did. Furthermore, the
minerals of our ashes correspond with the findings of
Maedwad et al. [19], who observed albite (NaAl3O8),
hematite (Fe2O3) and quartz (SiO2), but also with the
findings of Holmberg and Claesson [20], who observed
microcline (KAlSi3O8) in wood ash.
According to van Herck and Vandecasteele [21],
the alkaline pH of the ash indicates that part of the
dissolved metals occur as basic metal salts, oxides,
hydroxides and/or carbonates. Thus, the strongly alkaline
pH value of 11.9 (bottom ash) and 12.8 (fly ash) in our
ashes (see Table 2), as well as the minerals in them (see
Table 1. The minerals, their formulas and abundances (%) in the bottom ash and fly ash.
Mineral
Albite NaAl3O8
Anhydrite CaSO4
Biotite K(Fe,Mg)3AlSiO3O10(F,OH)2
Calcite CaCO3
Calcium Magnesium Carbonate CaMg(CO3)2
Hematite Fe2O3
Lime CaO
Microcline KAlSi3O8
Quartz SiO2
46
Table 1), partly support the findings reported by van
Herck and Vandecasteele [21], although we did not ob-
serve any hydroxides in the ashes. The dry matter con-
tent of the bottom ash and fly ash was very high (99.5%).
This is a disadvantage, as it may increase the amount of
dust generated during the handling of these residues.
The acid neutralizing value (NV) is one of the
most important indices in evaluating the liming effect
value of the ash in relation to its use in forestry [22].
The capacity of a liming agent to neutralize soil acidity
depends on the levels of soluble and hydrolysable bases
such as oxides, hydroxides, carbonates and silicates.
Cations such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium are
the interactive counter-ions [23]. According to the
neutralizing values in Table 2, the fly ash has a ca. 3.0
times higher capacity as a liming agent to neutralize
soil acidity and act as a soil amendment agent than the
bottom ash. This is reasonable in the light of the fact
that the Ca concentration in the fly ash (21.3%; d.w.)
was ca. 3.2 times higher than that in the bottom ash
(6.8%; d.w.). The NV of 26.9% (Ca equivalents; d.w.)
for the fly ash indicates that ca. 1.4 tonnes of this residue
would be required to replace 1 tonne of a commercially
ground limestone product produced by SMA Mineral
Ltd., the neutralizing value of which is 38 % (Ca equiva-
lents; d.w.). In the bottom ash, the respective NV was
8.7% (Ca equivalents; d.w.), indicating that ca. 4.4 tonnes
of these ashes would correspondingly be required to
replace 1 tonne of the above-mentioned limestone prod-
uct. The Mg concentration of the fly ash also indicates
that it is a better forest fertilizer than the bottom ash.
The Mg concentration in the fly ash was ca. 4.3 times
higher than that in the bottom ash. In addition, the P
and K concentrations were clearly higher in the fly ash
than those in the bottom ash, which also indicate that it
Formula Bottom ash Fly ash
(%) (%)
12.8 28.7
9.8
8.5
18.3
9.6
3.6
17.1
44.8
33.9 12.8
 H. Nurmesniemi, K. Manskinen, R. Pöykiö, O. Dahl

is a better plant nutrient agent than the bottom ash.
Although current Finnish legislation on the use of ash
as a fertilizer in forestry does not set any limit value for
the chloride (Cl) concentration in ash [24], we have
determined its concentration in this study because it
was also analysed in our previous studies [11, 13, 25].
The chloride content in both ash fractions was clearly
lower than the maximum limit value (2.0%; d.w.) of the
Decree of 12/07 [26], which were in force until 13
September 2011. As a consequence of the Ca and Mg
concentrations, which are of great interest concerning
the utilization of biomass ashes in forests, the fly ash is
a better plant nutrient and soil improvement agent that
the bottom ash.
Compared to the total phosphorous content, i.e.
0.3% (d.w.) in the bottom ash and 1.5 % (d.w.) in the fly
ash, the water soluble phosphorous content in both ashes
was negligible (< 0.01-%; d.w.). Water-soluble P rep-
resents the amount of P readily available to plants [27].
According to Schiemenz and Eichler-Löbermann [28],
the poor water solubility of phosphorous in wood ash
means that only a small part of P in ash is extractable
and available for plants when ash is used as a forest
fertilizer. However, according to Moilanen et al. [29],
the water-insoluble forms of phosphorous in forest
fertilizers minimise the risk of phosphorous leaching.
Augusto et al. [30] claimed that the solubility of phos-

4000
A Bottom ash
3000
2000
Quartz
Lin (C ount s)

1000
0000 Microcline
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
Biotit e Albite
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

2-Theta - Scale

B Fly Ash
Calcite
Lin (Cou nts)

4 000
Ca-M g-Car bonate
Quartz

3 000

Albite Hematite

2 000 Lime
Anhydrite

1 000

0
5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

2-Theta - Sca le

Fig. 1. XRD pattern for the bottom ash and fly ash.

47
 Journal of the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 47, 1, 2012

Table 2. Physical and chemical properties of the bottom ash and fly ash with respect to the current Finnish limit
values for ash used as a forest fertilizer, as well as the previous limit values that were used before 13 September
2011 [24, 26], and the literature values for the total concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals in Finnish wood
ashes [36-41].

Parameter Unit Bottom Fly Limit value Limit value Literature value
/ metal ash ash after before for the total
13.09.2011 13.09.2011 concentration in
Finnish wood
ashes
pH (1:5) 11.9 12.8

DMC (105 °C ) % 99.5 99.5

NV % (Ca; d.w.) 8.7 26.1
Cl % (d.w.) < 0.1 0.5 2.0 (max)
Ca % (d.w.) 6.0 20.5 6.0 (min) 6.0 (min) 10 - 30

Mg % (d.w.) 0.6 2.6 1.0 – 3.0

P % (d.w.) 0.3 1.5 0.1 - 1.6
K % (d.w.) 2.6 3.9 3.0 - 6.0
P+K % (d.w.) 2.9 5.4 2.0 (min) 1.0 (min)
P(H2O) % (d.w.) < 0.01 < 0.01

B mg/kg (d.w.) 150 340 72 - 555

As mg/kg (d.w.) < 3.0 < 3.0 40 (max) 30 (max) 0.2 - 60

Cd mg/kg (d.w.) 0.3 12 25 (max) 17.5 (max) 0.4 - 40

Cr mg/kg (d.w.) 39 69 300 (max) 300 (max) 40 - 250
Cu mg/kg (d.w.) 18 100 700 (max) 700 (max) 15 - 300
Hg mg/kg (d.w.) < 0.1 < 0.1 1.0 (max) 1.0 (max) 0.01 - 1.0
Pb mg/kg (d.w.) < 3.0 33 150 (max) 150 (max) 15 - 1000
Ni mg/kg (d.w.) 16 38 150 (max) 150 (max) 20 - 250
Zn mg/kg (d.w.) 720 3360 4500 (max) 4500 (max) 15 - 10 000

phorous is most likely low because in wood ash it is
bound in compounds with a low solubility, such as apa-
tite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH,F,Cl)), or Fe-Al oxides, although our
mineral data (see Fig. 1 and Table 1) do not supported
the presence of these minerals in the ashes investigated
in this study. In this context it is also worth to note,
that according to Table 2, there are no minimum or
maximum limit values for the pH, dry matter content
(DMC), neutralizing value (NV), or the concentrations
of chloride (Cl), magnesium (Mg), phosphorous (P),
potassium (K), the sum of phosphorous and potassium
(P+K), water soluble phosphorous (P(H20)) or boron
(B) in ashes used as a forest fertilizer. However, their
content has to be reported to the environmental au-
thorities when ash is used for such a purpose, and there-
fore their concentrations are reported in this study.
If we compare the physical and chemical prop-
erties of the ashes investigated in this study to those
investigated in our previous ones [13, 25], the main
important differences are the total concentrations of
calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in the ashes. The
total Ca and Mg concentrations in the bottom ash
investigated in this study were correspondingly ca. 3.2
and 2.0 times higher than those in the ashes originated

48
 H. Nurmesniemi, K. Manskinen, R. Pöykiö, O. Dahl
from a large-sized (32 MW) municipal district heating
plant incineration of peat fuel and clean forest residues
such as stumps and sawdust [13]. However, the total Ca
concentration (20.5%; d.w.) in the fly ash investigated
in this study was slightly lower than that (24.2%; d.w.)
in our previous one [13], although the total Mg concen-
tration (2.6%; d.w.) in this study was slightly higher than
that (2.2%; d.w.) in the previous one. Furthermore, the
total Ca concentrations in the ashes investigated in this
study were ca. 1.8 times higher than in the ashes origi-
nated from a 120 MW industrial power plant incinerat-
ing peat and wood residues [25].
Total element concentrations in the ashes and their
potential as forest fertilizers
Table 2 also presents the most relevant physi-
cal and chemical properties of the bottom ash and fly
ash with respect to their current and previous Finnish
forest limit values. In Finland, the new Decree on fer-
tilizer products (24/11), which sets guidelines for ash
recycling and fertilizing in forestry, came into force
on 13 September 2011 [24], and substituted the De-
cree of 12/07 [26]. If we compare the current and pre-
vious limit values for ash used as a forest fertilizer,
according to the figures in Table 2, the new limit val-
ues ease the reuse of ash in forestry. Whereas the pre-
vious Decree of 12/07 [26] set a maximum limit value
of 2.0% (d.w.) for Cl, the current Decree of 24/11 [24]
no longer sets any maximum allowable concentration
for chloride. In addition, the maximum allowable As
concentration of 40 mg/kg (d.w.) and cadmium con-
centration of 25 mg/kg (d.w.) are higher in the current
Decree than in the previous one. However, the maxi-
mum sum of the phosphorous and potassium concen-
tration (P+K) is stricter (min 2.0%; d.w.) in the cur-
rent Decree than that (min 1.0%; d.w.) in the previous
Decree. If we disregard elements whose concentra-
tions were lower than the detection limits, the concen-
trations of other elements in fly ash were between 1.5
(K) and 40 (Cd) times higher than those in bottom
ash. Compared to the bottom ash, the elevated ele-
ment concentrations in the fly ash indicate a high de-
gree of element volatilization [31, 32].
In addition to the element volatilization charac-
teristics, element retention in fly ash through other pro-
cesses (i.e. primarily the condensation process) deter-
mines the final fate of volatile elements. Most of these
species form compounds that condense on the surface
of particles in the flue gas, leading to the enrichment of
some elements in the fly ash fraction. This phenom-
enon is well known and depends on many factors such
as the type of boiler, the fuel mix, tree species, soil type
and climate, and the efficiency of flue gas cleaning de-
vices, and has been reported elsewhere [8, 30, 33-35].
According to the results in Table 2, the concentrations
of all elements in the bottom ash and fly ash were clearly
lower that their current Finnish limit values and do not
restrict the utilization of these residues as a forest fer-
tilizer.
If we compare our total concentrations of
nutrients and heavy metals in bottom ash and fly ash to
those reported in literature (see Table 2), our
observations for total concentrations are in relatively
good agreement with the concentrations of these
compounds in wood ashes from Finnish power plants.
The total concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals
in ashes depends, for instance, on the tree species, soil
type and climate where the trees are harvested, as well
as the type of boiler, operating conditions, the fuel mix
and the efficiency of flue gas cleaning devices [33, 34].
Therefore, the literature values [36-41] in Table 2 for
the total concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals
in wood ashes vary significantly.
CONCLUSIONS
Current Finnish legislation regulating the utili-
zation of ash in forestry only sets minimum or maxi-
mum concentration limit values for Ca, the sum of phos-
phorous and potassium, as well as for As, Cd, Cr, Cu,
Hg, Pb, Ni and Zn. Although the total element concen-
trations in fly ash were between 1.8 (Cr) and 110 (Pb)
times higher than those in bottom ash, all element con-
centrations, as well as the sum of the phosphorous and
potassium concentration in the bottom ash and fly ash
fulfilled the requirements of the Finnish fertilizer act
for forest fertilizer, which came into force on 13 Sep-
tember 2011. Therefore, current Finnish legislation con-
cerning fertilizer products does not restrict the utiliza-
tion of these residues as a forest fertilizer. As a conse-
quence of the Ca and Mg concentrations, which are of
great interest for the utilization of biomass ashes in for-
49
 Journal of the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 47, 1, 2012
ests, the fly ash is a better plant nutrient and soil im-
provement agent than the bottom ash. Compared to the
bottom ash, the fly ash investigated in this study had a
better capacity to act as a soil liming agent to neutralize
soil acidity, because its neutralizing value (NV) was
26.1% (Ca equivalents; d.w), whereas that of the bottom
ash was 8.7% (Ca equivalents; d.w.).
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the technical staff of
Suomen Ympäristöpalvelu Oy, who kindly conducted all
the chemical analyses. Special thanks also to MSc Olli
Taikina-Aho at the Institute of Electron Optics of
University of Oulu, for the XRD data, and Dr. Roy Siddall
for the English language revision.
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