Wear of the working parts of agricultural tools in the context of the mass of chemical elements introduced into soil during its cultivation

Abstract

For the manufacture of working parts of agricultural tools operating in soil, various structural materials are used: alloy and low-alloy steels, weld materials for hardfacing, and plates made from cemented-carbide. Manufacturers design new construction solutions to obtain components that are resistant to abrasive wear and impact. These components are subject to wear during soil cultivation, due to which wear products remain in the soil. In this work, the mass of chemical elements remaining in soil from materials used in selected working parts of agricultural tools intended for soil cultivation was estimated. During the operation of the tested parts, it was found that the following elements were introduced into the soil: Al, B, C, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mo, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, S, Si, Ti, V, W and Zr. Iron was introduced into the soil in the highest amount (15.907–222.004 g∙ha-1). Among the chemical elements reaching the soil, there were also elements that may pose a toxicological threat. It was found that the mass of chemical elements introduced into the soil depends on their content in the used structural materials and also on the conditions of cultivation, which determine the wear intensity of the parts.

Keywords

• Soil cultivation
• Working parts
• Potentially toxic elements
• Soil contamination
• Cemented-carbide
• Low-alloy steel