Behavior of plant micronutrients (Fe, Cu) during combustion of contaminated Sorghum spp

Abstract

Forage sorghum (Sorghum spp.) is a fast-growing annual plant that contains certain micronutrients, the most abundant of which is iron, and the least abundant is copper. This paper presents the behavior of these two micronutrients in sorghum species during combustion at different times and temperature conditions. Combustion of the homogenized sample was performed at temperatures of 400 °C, 450 °C, 500 °C and 600 °C in times of 120, 240 and 360 minutes. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) is carried out at a heating rate of 3 K/min from 25 to 500 °C. It was found that the combustion of forage sorghum increased the concentration of these two micronutrients in it. The highest concentration of Fe (7777 mg/kg) was achieved after 360 minutes of combustion at 600ºC, while the highest concentration of Cu (105 mg/kg) was achieved after 240 minutes of combustion at 450ºC.