Prospects of using flue gas desulfurization gypsum to ameliorate saline-alkaline soils

The application of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum to ameliorate saline-alkaline soils not only provides a new use for FGD gypsum, but also provides a new method for improving saline-alkaline soils. This paper reviews the development of this technology for ameliorating saline-alkaline soils over the past 20 years including the basic theory, key technologies, short and long-term effects, environmental safety and industrialized applications of treating saline-alkaline soils with FGD gypsum. This paper also presents the future research needs to address current problems for large-scale applications. Efficient and safe treatments of large saline-alkaline soil areas using FGD gypsum should reduce the application rate of FGD gypsum per unit land area, increase long-term positioning of test points and formulate national standards for agricultural application of FGD gypsum.