The aim of research is to study the application possibility of diluted sulfuric acid obtained from coal burning exhaust gases of Eastern Donbas and their tailings as an ameliorant to soils of sodium-carbonate salinization. The scheme of dual contact was adopted as a general technological process. Meadow chernozem soils characterized by high alkalinity: in the layer 0–100 cm, 8.44 mmol (eq.)/100 g soil were used for model experiment. A pilot batch of sulfuric acid diluted to 1 % solution in half, full and one-and-a-half dimension from predicted established dose was introduced in samples collected from the upper horizon. Water quantity to dilute sulfuric acid was determined by V. R. Volobuev formula. Two types of polyoxide catalysts were used in technological process of sulfuric acid. The result sulfurous ameliorant composition is the following: 1) on the catalyst from oxygen flare casting dust (CFR): 93.8 % – ion sulfate, 1.71 % – ferrous oxide (III), 0.4 % – phosphorus oxide (V), 0.025 % – copper, 0.035 % – zinc; 2) on the catalyst from furnace charge cinder containing four parts of coal pyrite and one part of dry ferric sulfate: 91.8 % – sulfate ion, 4.5 % – ferrous oxide (III), 1.4 % – phosphorus oxide (V) 0.06 % – copper, 0.02 % – zinc, 0.06 % – manganese, 0.08 % – magnesium. On the basis of environmental parameters, an ameliorant obtained on the catalyst of the CFP dust was selected for a model experiment. It has been stated that with its application in predicted doses the impurity content of catalyst components, in particular, copper and zinc will not exceed the maximum allowable concentration in soil. In the course of model experiment it has been found out that this ameliorant gives the greatest effect with its application in a predicted and one and a half doses: high alkalinity in these cases has been completely eliminated; at half the dose the soils began to be classified as slightly alkaline.
Keywords: saline soils, salinity soda, sulfuric acid ameliorant, catalyst, coal pyrite, monohydrate ferrous sulphate, oxygen flare casting dust.
