Influence of Coal Ash on Microorganisms and Applicability of Coal Ash to Remediate Desertficated Soil

Natural cultivation experiments using coal ash, reservoir sediments and Yellow River sediments were carried out to determine the applicability of using these wastes to remediate desertificated soil in Inner Mongolia, China. In the experiments, the microorganisms multiplied more when coal ash was applied to the desertificated soil. Under optical microscope, abundant bacteria were observed in porous surfaces and inside of coal ash particles thereby indicating that the addition of coal ash to desertificated soil hastens the breeding of bacteria, improves soil quality and could be used in afforestation practices. The effects of ash on soil can be explained in two ways: first, in terms of its chemical characteristics (the coal ash contains C, N, P and K); and second, in terms of its micromorphology (it is porous). In natural cultivation experiments, the mixing of reservoir sediments and/orYellow River sediments with the coal ash helped multiply bacteria. These experiments suggest that coal ash and reservoir sediments can be utilized to help solve some of the most serious environmental issues facing China today.