COMPARING STUDY ABOUT THE METHODS TO MEASURE

THE COPPER SORPTION CAPACITY OF SOILS

András SEBŐK1 − Gabriella RÉTHÁTI1 − Dániel VARGA1 − György FÜLEKY1 −

László TOLNER1

1Szent István University, Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Páter Károly Str. 1. H-2103

Gödöllő, Hungary, e-mail: andras.sebok85@gmail.com

The cation capacity of soils has a big importance in case of nutrients and toxic elements. The cations retarded

during similar processes in the solid phase of soil. It can be very useful to modelling these processes under

laboratory circumstances. During these experiments, two main method types could be identified. One of them

(batch method) gives information about the equilibrium, until the other (soil column or continuous flow

method) gives kinetically approaches and results. The result by the different methods – where was measured

the sorption amount of copper on high organic content soils – were compared with each other.

In case of batch technique (applied Langmuir isotherm) the model provides information about: adsorption

capacity (Amax), affinity of the adsorbent in case of adsorptium (k). If the flow-through model (soil column)

was used, the results give information about the adsorption capacity also, and the retardation factor could be

calculated from the curve. Based on it, the distribution, which related with the lineralized k value mentioned

before, could be calculated too. These distributions can be compared with the gradients of the isotherm (from

batch technique, practically the buffer capacity). With this information the sorption isotherms of the different

soils could be modelled. Based on the results: the two different methods could be compared withstand the

differences in the two measurement methods and terms of circumstances and measurement parameters of

them.

Keywords: copper, adsorption, batch, Langmuir, soil