Microfluidic Leaching of Soil Minerals: Release of K[superscript +] from K Feldspar
Name
Ciceri-2015-Microfluidic Leachin.pdf
Size
547.42 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
b47ebb55bcd105c2432916af28659478
Author(s)
Ciceri, Davide
Allanore, Antoine
Date Issued
October 2015
Journal
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Citation
Ciceri, Davide, and Antoine Allanore. “Microfluidic Leaching of Soil Minerals: Release of K[superscript +] from K Feldspar.” Edited by Arum Han. PLoS ONE 10, no. 10 (October 20, 2015): e0139979.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The rate of K[superscript +] leaching from soil minerals such as K-feldspar is believed to be too slow to provide agronomic benefit. Currently, theories and methods available to interpret kinetics of mineral processes in soil fail to consider its microfluidic nature. In this study, we measure the leaching rate of K[superscript +] ions from a K-feldspar-bearing rock (syenite) in a microfluidic environment, and demonstrate that at the spatial and temporal scales experienced by crop roots, K[superscript +] is available at a faster rate than that measured with conventional apparatuses. We present a device to investigate kinetics of mineral leaching at an unprecedented simultaneous resolution of space (~10[superscript 1]-10[superscript 2] μm), time (~10[superscript 1]-10[superscript 2] min) and fluid volume (~10[superscript 0]-10[superscript 1] mL). Results obtained from such a device challenge the notion that silicate minerals cannot be used as alternative fertilizers for tropical soils.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Materials Processing Center
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139979
