Map. Pierangeli et al., Effect of ionic strength of the equilibrium solution upon lead adsorption/desorption in Brazilian Oxisols, PESQ AGROP, 36(8), 2001, pp. 1077-1084
The ionic strength of soil solution influences metal availability and mobil
ity in soils. Laboratory experiments were conducted in order to evaluate th
e effect of solution ionic strength (I) upon Pb adsorption/desorption in A-
horizon samples of 17 Brazilian Oxisols. The effect of I upon Pb adsorption
was evaluated after a 72-hour reaction of the soil samples with 0.15 mmol
L-1 Pb(NO,), at pH 5.5, using 5 and 50 mmol L-1 Ca(NO3)(2) as background so
lutions (I = 15 and 150 mmol L-1). Lead desorption was measured after a 72-
hour reaction of the soil samples with 5 mmol L-1 Ca(NO3)(2) at pH 5.5. All
experiments were performed with a 1:100 soil:solution ratio. Increasing I
caused Pb adsorption to decrease in six soils, while no significant change
in Pb adsorption was observed for the remaining 11 Oxisols. Soil properties
such as specific surface area, CEC, clay and hematite content, oxalate- an
d DCB-Fe, and sulfuric acid digestion-Si and -Fe correlated with Pb adsorpt
ion equally for both values of solution ionic strength. Changing I had a sm
all effect on Pb desorption. The little change in the amount of Pb adsorbed
upon variation of I indicates that Pb is adsorbed as an inner-sphere compl
ex in most Oxisols. Therefore, this experiment suggests that Pb may not be
part of the exchange complex of these soils.