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Adsorption characteristics of cadmium onto aggregates of various acidic red soils from South China

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Particle size poses important influence on the adsorption and enrichment of heavy metals in soil aggregates. In this study, we conducted adsorption experiments to compare the effect of particle size on the adsorption behavior of cadmium (Cd) in aggregates of soils with different properties.

Materials and methods

Eight types of acid red soils sampled from South China were partitioned into aggregates of different particle sizes (2–0.25, 0.25–0.05, and < 0.05 mm). The adsorption and desorption characteristics of Cd onto the aggregates were examined through batch experiments. The influence of organic matter and free Fe/Al oxides were also examined by selectively removing the corresponding component.

Results

Both the Langmuir and Freundlich models are suitable for describing the isothermal adsorption characteristics of Cd in these soil particles. The maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of the < 0.05 mm fraction aggregates of most of the soils was the highest (1823.38–5365.75 mg/kg), while the desorption rate (Dr) was the lowest (15.37–37.91%) in this fraction. Organic matter content and pH were more important factors influencing the adsorption and desorption of Cd. The adsorption amount of all the soil particles decreased after organic matter was removed, while after the removal free Fe/Al oxides, obvious increase in adsorption amount was only observed in four types of the soils.

Conclusions

Cadmium tended to enrich in the fine-sized soil aggregates as a whole. The adsorption/desorption behavior of Cd in aggregates not only depend on the content of the soil components but also on their properties and combination condition with each other.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41701320, 42007049), the GDAS’ Project of Science and Technology Development (2019GDASYL-0104015, 2019GDASYL-0301002, 2019GDASYL-0401003, and 2019GDASYL-0103043), Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Program (2018B030324001), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (21620303).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environment and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, People’s Republic of China

    Bin Huang, Dingqiang Li, Zaijian Yuan, Mingguo Zheng, Chen Liang & Yishan Liao

  2. National-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangzhou, 510650, People’s Republic of China

    Bin Huang, Dingqiang Li, Zaijian Yuan, Mingguo Zheng, Chen Liang & Yishan Liao

  3. International Academy of Soil and Water Conservation, Meizhou, 514000, People’s Republic of China

    Bin Huang, Dingqiang Li, Zaijian Yuan, Mingguo Zheng, Chen Liang & Yishan Liao

  4. Institute of Groundwater and Earth Sciences, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, People’s Republic of China

    Chun Liu

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  1. Bin Huang
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  2. Dingqiang Li
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  3. Zaijian Yuan
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Contributions

B.H. and C. Liu conceived the central idea. B.H. wrote the paper. The remaining authors contributed to refining the ideas and finalizing this paper.

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Correspondence to Zaijian Yuan or Chun Liu.

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Huang, B., Li, D., Yuan, Z. et al. Adsorption characteristics of cadmium onto aggregates of various acidic red soils from South China. J Soils Sediments 22, 120–133 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-021-03024-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-021-03024-8

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