Effects of inorganic speciation on the interpretation of copper adsorption by soils

SUMMARY A previous study with a range of soils indicated that adsorption of copper could not be adequately described by the Freundlich equation. Adsorption curves for all but a highly calcareous soil could be divided into two straight lines with a marked increase in slope at low solution concentrations. A computer program (QELIOS) has now been used to calculate the effects of pH, CO, partial pressure and different inorganic anions on the chemical equilibria of the systems used in the adsorption experiments. At pH 6–8.5, hydrolysed species play a major role in Cu speciation whereas CO 2− 3 species become important only at pH > 8.0. The sensitivity of Cu hydrolysis to pH changes and to total Cu concentration in solution provides a possible explanation for the two surface Freundlich curves for soils of pH 6–7, and for the lack of such double surfaces for soils of pH > 7.