A BRIEF DISCUSSION ON THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON THE REACTION OF INORGANIC-IONS WITH SOIL

Published reports on the effect of temperature on the sorption of ions by soil, or soil constituents, are in conflict with regard to the dir ection of the effect and its interpretation. It is argued that, in man y cases, increased sorption with increased temperature is due to an in creased rate of the reaction that follows adsorption. The effects of t emperature on the adsorption reaction itself are complex because of se parate effects on the ions in solution, on the charge on the surface, and on the affinity of the ions for the surface. On balance, adsorptio n of anions should decrease with increasing temperature, and adsorptio n of cations should increase. However, decreased adsorption of cations is possible, particularly at high pH. With one exception, these concl usions are consistent for all published reports seen.