Catena 122 (2014) 5460

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Effects of rice-husk ash on soil consistency and compactibility

Jili Qu , Beibei Li, Tianle Wei, Chencai Li, Baoshi Liu
University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Environmental and Architectural College, 200093, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The use of rice-husk ash (RHA) as a soil amendment is new and its effects on soil mechanical properties has not
Received 29 June 2013 been well studied. This laboratory study aimed to assess the effects of rice-husk ash with different rates of 0%,
Received in revised form 21 March 2014 10%, 20%, and 30% (v/v) on soil consistency limits and soil compactibility parameters in soils with different
Accepted 20 May 2014
textures. Rice-husk ash applications in all experimental soils signicantly (p b 0.05) increased liquid limit (LL)
Available online 27 June 2014
and plastic limit (PL) values. The effectiveness of rice-husk ash on LL and PL was more pronounced in soils
Keywords:
with low clay content. As compared with the control, the highest application dose of rice-husk ash (30%) in-
Soil workability creased LL with the rates of 29.1%, and 25.9%, in HA (Halaquept) and PL (Plagganthrept), respectively. But, the
Soil trafcability highest LL values were obtained from 20% rice-husk ash application in UD (Udiuvent). On the average, rice-
Liquid limit husk ash application increased PL by 3.4%, 10.3%, and 14.1% with 10%, 20%, and 30% application rates, respectively,
Plastic limit as compared to the control. Rice-husk ash application decreased maximum dry bulk density (MBD), but
Proctor compaction test increased optimum water content (OWC). In all the soils studied, the lowest MBD and the highest OWC were ob-
tained from the highest application dose of rice-husk ash. As compared with the control, the highest rice-husk ash
application dose (30%) decreased the MBD with the rates of 7.2%, 8.8%, and 9.0%, in HA, PL and UD, but it increased
the OWC values with the rates of 21.6%, 31.9%, and 25.5%. The ndings presented in this study clearly showed that
the application of rice-husk ash increases the soil resistance to mechanical forces, since an increase in OWC may
imply that soil is more easily tilled in higher moisture contents without any deformation which also provides
higher workable range.
2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction 1000 C is loosely consisted of nano-scale SiO2 gel particles (about

Soil amendments vary greatly in their origin, composition, applica-
tion rate and expected or claimed mode of action (Wallace and Terry,
1998). These actions include: improvements in soil structure, aeration
and drainage, increasing soil water holding capacity, reducing soil
compaction, tillage and hardpan conditions, higher workability range,
encouraging root development and increasing yield. Many organic and
inorganic soil amendments have been extensively used for improving
soil characteristics. As a soil conditioner, the use of rice-husk ash (RHA),
a horticultural grade medium for all application, is not so common.
Rice-husk ash is a powder obtained by burning of rice-husk, an agricul-
tural by-product, at a temperature less than 1000 C. China is one of the
largest countries planting rice, with an annual rice-husk productivity of
about 39 million tons, being plenty of rice-husk resource (Chen, 2012).
Although there are many practical or potential industrial uses, the natural
stacking or burning of rice-husk is the general processing method for
most of the rice-processing companies, which not only occupies the
land resource, but also leads to environmental pollution and a re poten-
tial. It has been one of the main concerns for environmental agents and
rice processors. The rice-husk ash obtained by burning rice husk under
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 21 55153383.
E-mail addresses: qujili@hotmail.com, qujili@icloud.com (J. Qu).
50 nm) in diameter. Therefore, the introduction of rice-husk ash into
farming loam can not only give play to the physical lling effect, improve
the particle size distribution of soil, but also promote the second hydra-
tion reaction by its high chemical activity, increasing the workability
range and reducing the compactability of loam (Chen, 2012).
In this study, the Atterberg limits and the Proctor compaction of
different types of local soils were focused on to evaluate their effects
on soil behaviors. The Atterberg limits and the Proctor compaction test
are used by agricultural engineers for classifying soils. Various authors
have proposed to derive soil workability estimates using existing data
from standard soil testing methods, water retention data (Dexter and
Bird, 2001), consistency limits (Mueller et al., 1990), and Proctor com-
paction test data (Wagner et al., 1992). Soil consistence is described in
terms of the soil conditions at different water states, from dry to viscous.
Soil consistency has important implications to agricultural, engineering,
and industrial uses of the soil (Hemmat et al., 2010; Lal and Shukla,
2004). Few agronomists have used consistency limits in their compac-
tion research (Mapfumo and Chanasyk, 1998; Mosaddeghi et al.,
2009). With the help of consistency limits, the optimum and workable
water content range for tillage operations without undue effort and
with minimum risk of structural damage could be determined (Dexter
and Bird, 2001). Many studies showed that a signicant and positive
correlation exists between optimum soil water content for tillage and

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2014.05.016
0341-8162/ 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 J. Qu et al. / Catena 122 (2014) 5460
PL (plastic limit) and/or LL (liquid limit) (Barzegar et al., 2004; Dexter
and Bird, 2001; Mueller and Schindler, 1998a; Mueller et al., 1990,
2003; Reeve and Earl, 1989; Terzaghi et al., 1988). Plastic (PL) and liquid
limits (LL) are useful because they are direct measures of soil mechanical
behavior and represent an integration of soil properties (Soane et al.,
1972), which can be used to estimate properties such as compressibility
(Ball et al., 2000).
Another parameter that can be used to depict the mechanical behavior
is the compactibility of soil. Compactibility can be dened as the increase
in density with increasing applied stress. Several factors such as soil tex-
ture, inherent bulk density, structural stability, organic matter, soluble
salts and most importantly water content and compactive effort inuence
soil compactibility (Thacker et al., 1994). These factors also inuence soil
workability (Larson et al., 1994). The soil workability status is clearly
related to the moisture content at the plastic limit (Dexter and Bird,
2001; Mueller and Schindler, 1998b; Smedema, 1993). The workable
soil water content is a little lower than PL (Godwin and Spoor, 1977;
Spoor and Godwin, 1977). Dexter and Bird (2001) reported that the opti-
mum soil water content for tillage occurs near the 0.9PL. Keller et al.
(2007) found values of optimum soil water content for tillage in the
range 0.70.9PL on four different Swedish soils. Maximum water contents
for optimum soil workability are nearly 0.60.9PL, or the water content at
maximum Proctor density (Mosaddeghi et al., 2009; Mueller et al., 2003).
The optimum water content varies with the property of the soil, but in
general, it lies in the vicinity of plastic limit of the soil (Huang et al.,
2009). Some researchers also related soil workability and trafcability to
the Proctor compaction test (Wagner et al., 1992). The Proctor test has
been employed to characterize resistance of agricultural soils to compac-
tion and for evaluating the compaction status of soils (De Kimpe et al.,
1982; Ekwue and Stone, 1995, 1997; Felton and Ali, 1992; Hakansson
and Lipiec, 2000; Thomas et al., 1996; Wagner et al., 1994; Zhang et al.,
1997). Parameters to compare compactibility of soils are the maximum
soil bulk density (MBD) under the Proctor test and the optimum water
content (OWC) at which the maximum soil bulk density is reached. The
agronomic importance of these parameters is elucidated by Wagner
et al. (1994). Wagner et al. (1992) also found that the best soil fragmen-
tation in tillage is obtained at the Proctor optimum water content.
As tillage plays a signicant role in agricultural crop production, it
should be scheduled carefully in order to obtain the optimum soil struc-
ture. The response of soil structure to tillage crucially depends on the
soil water content. When tilled outside of these limits, not only large
clods can be produced but also soil structural damage can occur.
Wagner et al. (1992) appointed the Proctor critical water content as
the optimum water content for tillage. Mueller et al. (2003) also found
a strong relationship between the soil workability and the Proctor critical
water content. Increase in liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL), and the
Proctor optimum water content (OWC) will not only cause less
compactable and more easily tilled soils, but also higher workable range
and more soil resistance to mechanical forces, which are mainly depen-
dent upon soil water suction. Therefore, the objective of this study was
to determine the effects of rice-husk ash application on consistency limits
(LL, PL, and PI) and the Proctor compaction test parameters and indirectly
to probe the effect of rice husk ash on soil mechanical forces.
2. Materials and methods
This paper evaluates the effects of rice-husk ash (RHA) on some
mechanical properties of Shanghai soil. This study was conducted
under laboratory conditions with a relative humidity of 65 5% and
an average temperature of 21 2 C. The experimental soil samples
were collected from the 0 to 20 cm depth of commonly distributed
soil great groups in the agricultural elds of Shanghai, China (3114N,
12129E). Soils were classied as Halaquept (HA), Plagganthrept (PL),
and Udiuvent (UD) according to Keys to Soil Taxonomy (2003, Ninth
Edition) issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
55
The soil samples were air-dried and crumbled to pass a 4 mm sieve.
Rice-husk ash passed through a 2 mm sieve was applied with the rates
of 10%, 20%, and 30% on volume/volume (v/v) basis, corresponding to
weight/weight (w/w) basis of 2.0%, 3.9%, and 5.9% for HA, 2.5%, 4.9%,
and 7.4% for PL and 2.4%, 4.8%, and 7.1% for UD. Soil and rice-straw ash
with dened amounts were uniformly mixed and conveyed to the ex-
perimental pots. The control soil without rice-straw ash application
was also mixed itself in order to reduce experimental errors on structural
parameters because of mixing. The mixtures were then lled into thirty
six plastic containers (40 cm in length and 25 cm in wide) to a depth of
15 cm. Soils were incubated for three months at near eld capacity by
adding water with 3 days intervals under constant laboratory conditions.
The rice-husk ash (RHA) was an industrial waste residue from Kaidi
Green Energy Power Plant. It is a powder obtained by burning the rice
husk, an agricultural by-product, at about 1000 C. The rice-husk ash
was blackgray powder, which had a 76% residue on 45 m sieve, 42%
residue on 63 m sieve, and with a loss on ignition of 5%. Table 1 shows
the chemical composition of rice-husk ash. It can be seen fromTable 1
that the main component of rice-husk ash is SiO2. While the SiO2 in
rice-husk represents an amorphous state, it demonstrates certain poten-
tial activity (Chen et al., 2011). Table 2 shows the general characteristics
of the soils prior to the experiment.
Particle size distribution was determined using the sieving method;
pH and electrical conductivity were measured according to McLean
(1982) and Rhoades (1982a). Soil organic matter was determined
using the SmithWeldon method (Nelson and Sommers, 1982). Lime
content of the soils was determined with Scheibler Calcimeter as
described in Nelson (1982). Cation exchange capacity was determined
with ame photometer using sodium acetateammonium acetate buff-
ered at pH 7 (Rhoades, 1982b). Bulk density was determined as described
by Blake and Hartge (1986). The Casagrande device was used to measure
the liquid limit (LL), by the three-point Casagrande method. The plastic
limit (PL) was determined using the 3-mm rod formation method
(McBride, 1993). The difference between LL (liquid limit) and PL (plastic
limit) is dened as plasticity index (PI). The standard Proctor method
(ASTM, 1992) was applied. Subsamples of about 2.5 kg were spray mois-
turized in order to reach at least eight different water contents. Following
the method, amounts of soil from these homogenized wet subsamples
were compacted in three layers in a compaction chamber, volume of
0.911 103 m3. Each layer received 25 blows of a 2.5 kg falling hammer
from 0.305 m height. The weight of the wet compacted soil in the cham-
ber was determined. Then the samples were dried in an oven at 105 C
for 24 h, and weighed again to estimate the moisture content and dry
bulk density.
Size distribution of soil aggregates was determined using the dry
and wet-sieving methods developed by Kemper and Rosenau (1986).
Air-dried aggregates were separated by placing 100 g of air-dried soils
on the top of a stack of ve sieves (5, 2, 1, 0.5 and 0.25 mm in diameter).
The soils were sieved for 10 min on a ro-tap sieve. Dry aggregates re-
maining on each sieve were collected and weighed. Water-stable aggre-
gates were estimated following the standard wet-sieving method.
Briey, 50 g composite soil samples representing each dry aggregate
size class were placed on the top most of a nest of sieves with diameters
equaling to 2, 1, 0.5, and 0.25 mm, respectively. The sieves were placed
in a sieve holder of the Yoder type aggregate analysis machine (DM200-
II) and sieved in water for 30 min at a rate of 30 cycle/min. The resultant
aggregates on each sieve were dried at 105 C for 24 h and weighed.
According to the size range of 52, 21, 10.5, and 0.50.25 mm, respec-
tively, the percentage of water-stable aggregate was determined. The
mass of b0.25 mm aggregate was calculated by the difference between
Table 1
Chemical component of rice-husk ash (%).
Constituent SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO K2O Na2O SO3 P2O3 Cl1
quantity 87.89 0.66 0.55 2.41 0.56 2.5 0.14 0.3 0.82 0.25
56 J. Qu et al. / Catena 122 (2014) 5460

Table 2 content of micro-aggregated clay. In HA, the increasing rates in LL

General physical and chemical properties of the soils. values were 23.6%, 25.9%, and 29.1% for 10%, 20%, and 30% rice-husk
Materials ash doses, respectively. These rates were 20.5%, 22.0%, and 25.9% for
PL soil. On the other hand, the highest LL values were obtained from
HA(Halaquept) PL(Plagganthrept) UD(Udiuvent
20% rice-husk ash application dose in UD. The effectiveness of rice-
Clay(%) 7.71 15.37 31.40
husk ash on LL increases in soil with lower clay content. While increase
Silt(%) 60.33 68.51 50.1
Sand(%) 31.96 16.12 18.50 in the rate of LL values was the highest in HA, it was lowest in UD.
Textural class SILT LOAM SILT LOAM SILTY CLAY LOAM Correlation coefcients between LL and rice-husk ash application
Great group Halaquept Plagganthrept Udiuvent were found as 0.893**, 0.875**, and 0.715** for HA, PL and UD, respec-
pHa 8.0 8.1 8.1 tively (Table 5). These results indicate that the effectiveness of rice-
ECa(mS cm1) 0.21 0.16 0.12
CEC(cmol(+)kg1) 12.94 12.30 15.00
husk ash application on LL decreased with increasing clay content of
CaCO3(%) 4.32 5.30 7.00 soil.
Organic matter (%) 0.97 1.56 1.59
Bulk density (gcm3) 1.53 1.22 1.26 3.1.2. Effects of rice-husk ash on plastic limits (PL)
a
Determined in 1:2.5 (soil:water) extract. EC:electric conductivity. CEC:cation Effects of rice-husk ash (RHA) on plastic limit were also signicant
exchange capacity. (p b 0.05) (Table 3). As in liquid limit, increases in the application
doses of rice-husk ash increased plastic limit values of HA and PL soils,
the initial sample weight and the sum of sample weights collected on and the highest increases were obtained from the 30% rice-husk ash ap-
the 2, 1, 0.5, and 0.25 mm sieve nest. The water stable indices, i.e., the plication. Compared with the control sample, the highest increasing
aggregate stability or the mean weight diameter (MWD) were calculated rates in plastic limit of HA and PL soils were 30.4%, and 18.2%, respec-
according to the method of Kemper and Rosenau (1986). tively. Additionally, signicant correlations were obtained between
rice-husk ash application doses and PL (Table 4 and 5). The highest PL
X
n1
r ri values were obtained also with the application of 30% rice-husk ash in
i1
MWD  mi UD. These rates of rice-husk ash increased PL by only 0.82% as compared
1
2
with the control. In the case of doses of 10% and 20% rice-husk ash appli-
cation in UD, the PL values decrease instead. The results indicate that as
Where ri is the sieve aperture of the ith sieve; mi is the weight clay content increases, the effect of rice-husk ash on PL of soil becomes
percentage of the ith sieve. less signicant. Hemmat et al. (2010) and Smith et al. (1985) have re-
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed by SPSS Statistical ported that an increase in soil specic surface area and activity results
Package (SPSS 19.0, SPSS Inc., 2011) using GLM. The Duncan's Multiple in an increase in the LL and PL values.
Range Test was used for testing mean differences.
3.1.3. Effects of rice-husk ash on plastic index (PI)
3. Results and discussion The plasticity index (PI) reects the range of moisture content over
which the soil is susceptible to compaction by external forces. The
3.1. Effects of rice-husk ash on consistency limits (LL, PL, and PI) higher the PI value, the greater the range of moisture over which the
soil is susceptible to compaction. Effect of rice-husk ash (RHA) application
3.1.1. Effects of rice-husk ash on liquid limits (LL) on soil PI was not clear. While LL (liquid limit) has a signicant role in the
Rice-husk ash (RHA) applications in all three soils signicantly increase of PI, increase in PL may minimize this effect. Because of the in-
(p b 0.05) increased LL values (Table 3), because of its potential activity creases in LL and PL values, the highest PI values vary with application
(Chen et al., 2011). Increases in the application doses of rice-husk ash doses (Table 3). In HA, as compared with the control, PI increased with
increased LL values in HA and PL. In HA and PL soils, the highest LL an increase in application doses, but the same situation was not obtained
values were obtained from the maximum dose (30%) of rice-husk ash for in PL and UD soils. In general, PI increased with increase in application
application. However, the application of rice-husk ash had a less signif- doses, but no signicant differences were obtained.
icant effect on LL values of UD soil, due to its high clay content and In this study the higher plasticity index of UD soil than that for HA
and PL soil means that the UD soil is prone to substantial compaction
over a wider moisture content range than either the HA and PL soils.
Table 3
Effects of rice-husk ash application on liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL), and plasticity
According to Jumikis (1984) and Mapfumo and Chanasyk (1998) a
index (PI) of soils (Mean SD). PI b 7 indicates that a soil is of low plasticity, 7 b PI b 17 indicates medium
plasticity while PI N 17 indicates high plasticity. Using these guidelines
Soil Application rate (v/v) LL (%) PL (%) PI (%)
the UD soil used in this study is highly plastic while the HA and PL soils
HA Control 38.2 0.6d 23.0 0.3d 15.2 0.3b have medium plasticity and therefore are less prone to severe compac-
10% 47.2 0.3c 28.4 0.4c 18.8 0.5b
tion because of the narrow moisture range within which deformation
20% 48.1 0.3b 29.2 0.4b 18.9 0.2a
30% 49.3 0.4a 30.0 0.5a 19.3 0.4a would occur.
PL Control 40.9 0.3c 28.5 0.6b 12.4 0.3d
10% 49.3 0.4b 29.0 0.4b 20.4 0.1c 3.2. Effects of rice-husk ash on Proctor test parameters
20% 49.9 0.2b 33.0 0.3a 16.9 0.2b
30% 51.5 0.4a 33.7 0.3a 17.8 0.2a
It was found that effects of rice-husk ash (RHA) on the maximum dry
UD Control 54.7 0.3d 36.7 0.2b 18.0 0.2d
10% 59.4 0.2c 34.1 0.1d 25.3 0.1c bulk density (MBD) and the optimum water content (OWC) were sta-
20% 60.1 0.3a 35.0 0.2c 25.1 0.1a tistically signicant (p b 0.05) (Table 6), and the relationship between
30% 58.8 0.3b 37.0 0.1a 21.8 0.2b water content and dry bulk density of the soils at different levels of
General Control 44.6 4.5d 29.1 2.4d 15.5 2.8d
rice-husk ash is illustrated in Fig. 1 using the standard Proctor test.
10% 52.0 2.5c 30.1 2.3c 21.9 2.3c
20% 52.7 6.1b 32.1 3.5b 20.6 8.9a The result clearly indicates that addition of rice-husk ash to soil extends
30% 53.2 5.2a 33.2 2.9a 20.0 7.3b the range of trafcability without causing compaction. It is important
Letters followed in each row (capital letters) show differences between soils, while letters
especially for ne textured soils. In all of the same application rates
in columns (small letters) show differences between application rates (Mean SD). of the experimental soils, the highest MBD and the lowest OWC
Mean differences were tested at the level of p b 0.05. values were obtained from HA, which had the lowest clay content.
 J. Qu et al. / Catena 122 (2014) 5460 57

Table 4
General correlation relationships among indices of soil tested.

Aggregate stability (AS)

RHA Clay Silt Sand b0.25 0.250.5 0.51. 12 25 N5 LL PL PI OWC MBD

AS RHA
Clay .000
Silt .000 .710
Sand .000 .649 .076
b0.25 .537 .164 .811 .644
0.50.25 .513 .986 .818 .512 .077
10.5 .126 .905 .942 .264 .266 .040
21 .441 .731 .038 .994 .107 .352 .032
52 .604b .258 .723 .634 .300 .834a .152 .385
N5 .831a .847 .227 .954 .457 .729a .067 .633b .727a
LL .447 .984 .573 .774 .021 .735a .396 .567 .614b .556
PL .517 .131 .606 .839 .023 .010 .565 .506 .054 .489 .111
PI .178 .972 .855 .452 .009 .634b .574 .287 .512 .284 .914a .504
OMC .797a .230 .523 .890 .159 .266 .514 .460 .422 .580b .247 .742a .087
MBD .927a .569 .175 .995 .296 .481 .336 .510 .581b .758a .448 .642b .128 .949a

RHA: rice husk ash; AS: aggregate stability; LL: liquid limit; PL: plasticity limit; PI: plasticity index; OWC: optimum water content; MBD: maximum dry bulk density.
a
Correlation is signicant at the 0.01 level.
b
Correlation is signicant at 0.05 level.

On the control samples, the MBD values were found as 1.66, 1.60 and content increased. Larson et al. (1980), Carig (1987), and Barzegar
1.55 g cm 3 for HA, PL and UD soils, respectively. For these soils the et al. (2000) also reported similar results.
OWC values were found as 17.6%, 18.2%, and 20.8%. The optimum The MBD decreased with an increase in rice-husk ash (RHA) applica-
water content for the maximum dry bulk density increased as the clay tion, while the OWC values increased signicantly (p b 0.05) (Fig. 1). In

Table 5
General correlation relationships among indices of three types of soils tested.

Aggregate stability (AS)

RHA b0.25 0.250.5 0.51 12 25 N5 LL PL PI OWC MBD

HA RHA _
b0.25 .864a _
0.50.25 .525 .485 _
10.5 .547 .169 .512 _
21 .650b .494 .761a .484 _
52 .192 .313 .814a .033 .666b _
N5 .846a .835a .790a .389 .874a .610b _
LL .893a .774a .794a .513 .910a .784b .978a _
PL .884a .799a .763a .535 .879a .498 .978a .987a _
PI .784a .694b .800a .451 .912a .690b .927a .968a .915a _
OMC .946a .829a .705b .538 .814a .402 .954a .958a .973a .901a _
MBD .973a .857a .584b .535 .733a .304 .889a .899a .919a .893a .951a _
PL RHA _
b0.25 .191 _
0.50.25 .958a .286 _
10.5 .512 .246 .369 _
21 .460 .369 .452 .385 _
52 .861a .029 .763a .684b .547 _
N5 .911a .122 .885a .611b .600b .822a _
LL .875a .186 .819a .359 .239 .789a .800a _
PL .934a .425 .923a .514 .367 .736a .808a .735a _
PI .490 .613b .418 .093 .043 .530 .486 .832a .236 _
OMC .990a .142 .951a .506 .403 .874a .892a .920a .917a .568 _
MBD .973a .134 .912a .553 .410 .878a .882a .922a .892a .593b .987a _
UD RHA _
b0.25 .905a _
0.50.25 .107 .297 _
10.5 .100 .146 .225 _
21 .267 .154 .038 .623b _
52 .540 .511 .403 .591b .589b _
N5 .920a .894a .134 .172 .396 .650b _
LL .715a .577b .232 .028 .414 .624b .629b _
PL .172 .268 .450 .012 .060 .116 .281 .522 _
PI .445 .306 .352 .015 .324 .498 .338 .936a .788a _
OMC .976a .912a .290 .147 .241 .424 .894a .661b .205 .393 _
MBD .976a .869a .155 .028 .378 .559 .940a .712a .180 .440 .974a _

RHA: rice husk ash; AS: aggregate stability; LL: liquid limit; PL: plasticity limit; PI: plasticity index; OWC: optimum water content; MBD: maximum dry bulk density.
a
Correlation is signicant at the 0.01 level.
b
Correlation is signicant at 0.05 level.
58 J. Qu et al. / Catena 122 (2014) 5460

Table 6 0(control)
1.66 10
Effect of rice husk ash on maximum dry bulk density (MBD) and optimum water content
20
(OWC) (Mean SD). 1.64 30

Soil Application rate (v/v) MBD (gcm3) OMC (%) Application rate(%)

Dry bulk density (g.cm-3)

1.62
HA Control 1.66 0.01a 17.6 0.1d 1.60
10% 1.61 0.01b 18.6 0.1c
20% 1.58 0.15c 20.0 0.1b 1.58
30% 1.54 0.01d 21.4 0.3a 1.56
Mean 1.60 0.05A 19.4 1.0B
PL Control 1.60 0.02a 18.2 0.5d 1.54
10% 1.57 0.03b 20.6 0.3c 1.52
20% 1.52 0.02c 21.6 0.2b
30% 1.46 0.01d 24.0 0.2a 1.50
Mean 1.54 0.08C 21.1 2.8A
UD Control 1.55 0.01a 20.8 0.3d
1.48
10% 1.50 0.01b 22.8 0.3c 1.46
20% 1.47 0.01c 23.5 0.3b 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
30% 1.41 0.02d 26.1 0.3a
Water content (%)
Mean 1.48 0.05B 23.3 2.0B
General Control 1.60 0.02a 18.9 0.5d HA
10% 1.56 0.02b 20.7 1.0c
20% 1.52 0.03c 21.7 1.7b 1.60 0(control)
30% 1.47 0.06d 23.8 2.0a 10
1.58 20
Letters followed in each row (capital letters) show differences between soils, while letters 30

Dry bulk density (g.cm-3)

in columns (small letters) show differences between application rates (Mean SD). 1.56 Application rate(%)
Mean differences were tested at the level of p b 0.05.
1.54

all of the soils studied, the lowest MBD and the highest OWC values 1.52
were obtained from the highest application dose (30%) of rice-husk 1.50
ash (Table 6). According to a previous study (Aksakal et al., 2013), it
1.48
was clearly seen that AS (aggregate stability) is a signicant factor in
the decrease of the MBD and increase of the OWC values. In this 1.46
study, the correlation coefcient between AS and MBD was found 1.44
as 0.581* (particle size group 25 mm) and 0.758** (particle
1.42
size group N 5 mm), respectively (Table 4). The correlation coefcient
between AS and OWC was found as 0.422 (particle size group 25 mm) 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30
and 0.580* (particle size group N5 mm), respectively. It was inverse Water content (%)
in the case of other particle size groups with only a loose correlation.
PL
Several researches have demonstrated that an increase in soil structural
stability decreases soil compactibility (Aksakal et al., 2004; Barzegar 0(control)
1.56 10
et al., 1996; Baumgart and Horn, 1991). Application of rice-husk ash
20
increased water content at liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL), and values 1.54 30
of OWC in which the maximum compaction occurred. Increase in rice- 1.52 Application rate(%)
Dry bulk density (g.cm-3)

husk ash application rate increased the OWC values of the control 1.50
groups which were 0.42LL and 0.65PL. These values were found as 1.48
0.40, 0.41, and 0.45LL and 0.69, 0.68, and 0.62PL for 10%, 20%, and 30% 1.46
rice-husk ash application rates, respectively. Many studies showed 1.44
that signicant and positive correlation exists between the OWC for 1.42
PL and LL (Barzegar et al., 2004; Dexter and Bird, 2001; Mosaddeghi 1.40
et al., 2009; Mueller and Schindler, 1998a; Mueller et al., 1990, 2003; 1.38
Reeve and Earl, 1989; Terzaghi et al., 1988). The results presented in 1.36
this study showed that AS is a signicant factor in the decrease of the 1.34
MBD and increase of the OWC values, hence, this situation shows that 1.32
soils amended with rice-husk ash are resistant to mechanical forces. 1.30
In agricultural aspect, increases in the water content of LL, and PL in 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
OWC values may increase the eld capacity, which make soils more Water content (%)
easily tilled in higher moisture contents without any deformation. UD

3.3. Agronomical implications of the ndings Fig. 1. Proctor compaction test curves of the soils studied.

The application of rice-husk ash (RHA) increases the OWC and

decreases the MBD. In this study, OWC is positively correlated with
the aggregate stability (0.422 for particle size group 25 mm and
0.580* for particle size group N5 mm), while MBD is negatively correlated
with AS ( 0.581* for particle size group 25 mm and 0.758** for
particle size group N 5 mm). That means that the application of rice-
husk ash can also improve signicantly the formation and stability of
the soil aggregate, especially for larger size group (N2 mm). The forma-
tion and stability of the soil aggregates play an important role in the
crop production and soil degradation prevention. An increase in the for-
mation of macroaggregates by the addition of rice-husk ash (RHA) indi-
cates that the RHA is able to increase the soil aggregation. The organic
materials introduced by the RHA may act like a glue to cement
microaggregates into macroaggregates in which larger pore spaces are
present between micro-aggregates. The aggregate stability not only af-
fects the movement of water and air in the soil but also inuences the
 J. Qu et al. / Catena 122 (2014) 5460
water holding capacity, root penetration, seedling emergence, runoff and
erosion.
Many studies showed that the workable soil water content is a little
lower than water content at plastic limit (Dexter and Bird, 2001;
Godwin and Spoor, 1977; Mueller and Schindler, 1998b; Smedema,
1993; Spoor and Godwin, 1977). Maximum water contents for optimum
soil workability are nearly 0.60.9PL, or the water content at maximum
Proctor density (Mosaddeghi et al., 2009; Mueller et al., 2003). In this
study, the application of RHA increases the water content at plastic
limit, which means that the range of water content in which the soil
can be easily tilled extends. Therefore the soil can be tilled at higher
water content, improving the soil workability. While the decrease of
MBD (maximum bulk density) caused by the application of RHA to soil
increases the resistance of soil to compaction caused by mechanical
force, namely, the soil can be tilled at higher mechanical force without de-
formation, improving the soil trafcability.
4. Conclusion
The results of this study clearly indicated that rice-husk ash (RHA)
application enhances soil physical and mechanical properties. The
conclusions derived from our study can be summarized as follows:
1. Rice-husk ash applications in all three soils signicantly (p b 0.05)
increased liquid limit and plastic limit values. The effectiveness of
rice-husk ash on LL and PL increased with the decreases in clay con-
tent and vice versa.
2. Increase in rice-husk ash application not only decreased the MBD
values, but also increased the OWC values signicantly (p b 0.05)
in all of the soils studied. The higher the rice-husk ash application
rate, the lower the MBD and the higher the OWC values.
3. Increase in rice-husk ash application rate increased OWC values of the
control groups that were 0.42LL and 0.65PL. Application of rice-husk
ash increased LL and PL as well as the OWC at nearly the same rate.
Therefore there may be signicant and positive correlation between
LL, PL and OWC in which the maximum compaction occurred.
In conclusion, the application of rice-husk ash (RHA) decreased the
MBD, but increased the OWC values of soils, and improved the stability
of soil aggregate, thus, this situation leads soils more resistant to me-
chanical forces. Also, increase in the water content at LL (liquid limit),
PL (plastic limit), and OWC (optimum water content) values may
make soils more easily tilled in higher moisture contents without any
deformation. It could be concluded that it might be possible to extend
the range of workability by amending soil with rice-husk ash.
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