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Measurements of the streaming potential of clay soils from tropical and subtropical regions using self-made apparatus

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Abstract

The streaming potential has been wildly used in charged parallel plates, capillaries, and porous media. However, there have been few studies involving the ζ potential of clay soils based on streaming potential measurements. A laboratory apparatus was developed in this study to measure the streaming potential (ΔE) of bulk clay soils’ coupling coefficient (C) and cell resistance (R) of saturated granular soil samples. Excellent linearity of ΔE versus liquid pressure (ΔP) ensured the validity of measurements. The obtained parameters of C and R can be used to calculate the ζ potential of bulk soils. The results indicated that the ζ potentials measured by streaming potential method were significantly correlated with the ζ potentials of soil colloids determined by electrophoresis (r 2 = 0.960**). Therefore, the streaming potential method can be used to study the ζ potentials of bulk clay soils. The absolute values of the ζ potentials of four soils followed the order: Ultisol from Jiangxi > Ultisol from Anhui > Oxisol from Guangdong > Oxisol from Hainan, and this was consistent with the cation exchange capacities of these soils. The type and concentration of electrolytes affected soil ζ potentials. The ζ potential became less negative with increased electrolyte concentration. The ζ potentials were more negative in monovalent than in divalent cationic electrolyte solutions because more divalent cations were distributed in the shear plane of the diffuse layer as counter-cations on the soil surfaces than monovalent cations at the same electrolyte concentration.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41230855) and the Knowledge Innovation Program Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-EW-405).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 821, Nanjing, China

    Zhong-Yi Li, Jiu-Yu Li, Yuan Liu & Ren-Kou Xu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Zhong-Yi Li & Yuan Liu

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  1. Zhong-Yi Li
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  2. Jiu-Yu Li
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  3. Yuan Liu
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  4. Ren-Kou Xu
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Correspondence to Ren-Kou Xu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Li, ZY., Li, JY., Liu, Y. et al. Measurements of the streaming potential of clay soils from tropical and subtropical regions using self-made apparatus. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 10461–10469 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2933-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2933-5

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