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Comparative evaluation of arsenate sorption–desorption in two soils of North India

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Abstract

A sandy loam (Typic Ustochrept) and a clayey (Typic Hapludalf) soil from two north Indian states, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, respectively, were used to study sorption–desorption behaviour of arsenate. Arsenate sorption by the soils was studied from a range of added concentrations (50–100 mg arsenate kg−1) in the presence of background electrolyte, 0.01 M KNO3. Arsenate sorption was found to increase with each increment in added arsenate concentration in both the soils. However, the magnitude of sorbed arsenate decreased. The sorption was rapid initially followed by gradual retention behaviour. The amount and pattern of arsenate sorbed over a period of time (2–512 h) differed between the two soils. The sorption was higher and quicker by clayey soil as compared to sandy loam soil, which could be due to difference in their pH, AEC, organic matter, Fe and Mn oxide content. Arsenate sorption data were well explained by Langmuir and Freundlich sorption isotherms. Desorption of arsenate was carried out by six successive washings with arsenate free 0.01 M KNO3 solution. At all levels of added arsenate, most of the sorbed arsenate could not be desorbed back into the solution and a marked hysteresis between arsenate sorption and desorption isotherms was observed in both soils which became greater with increasing reaction period. Relatively lesser amount of arsenate could be desorbed back from clayey soil than from sandy loam soil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India

    Jyoti Sondal, Dhanwinder Singh & Rajeev Sikka

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  1. Jyoti Sondal
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  2. Dhanwinder Singh
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  3. Rajeev Sikka
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Correspondence to Dhanwinder Singh.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The research work was carried out by the first author for her M.Sc (Soil Science) programme at Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. The second and third authors are supervisor and co-supervisor, respectively. It is stated that the manuscript has not been submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration. The manuscript has not been published previously (partly or in full). A single study is not split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time. No data have been fabricated or manipulated (including images) to support the conclusions. No data, text or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own (“plagiarism”). Proper acknowledgements to other works have been given. It is stated that no external funding/grant was received for this research work. Authors whose names appear on the submission have contributed sufficiently to the scientific work and therefore share collective responsibility and accountability for the results.

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Consent to submit has been received explicitly from all co-authors. The permission of Head, Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, where the work has been carried out, has been granted for publication of this research work.

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Sondal, J., Singh, D. & Sikka, R. Comparative evaluation of arsenate sorption–desorption in two soils of North India. Environ Earth Sci 75, 249 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-5018-y

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