STUDIES WITH WASTE SULPHITE LIQUOR: II. WASTE SULPHITE LIQUOR AS A SOIL AGGREGATING AGENT
Ammonium-base waste sulphite liquor (solids) (W.S.L.S.) was added to three soils and incubated for 7 weeks. Weekly measurements of organic carbon content and aggregation showed an increase in aggregation to a maximum at 3 weeks, followed by a decline and then by a second increase at 6 weeks. This increase and decline in aggregation paralleled very closely the corresponding biological activity as indicated by loss of organic carbon. Results suggest that decomposition of sugars is responsible for the⁁ development of aggregation in the early stages of incubation and that the ligninsulphonates may have an effect after further incubation.The aggregating effect of W.S.L.S. was compared with that of two synthetic conditioners HPAN and VAMA. The effect of all materials varied considerably with the clay content of the soil. Results indicate that W.S.L.S. is about 1/16 as effective as HPAN and about 1/36 as effective as VAMA.