The adsorption of lead and other heavy metals on oxides of manganese and iron

Measurements were made of the adsorption of cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc on nine synthetic manganese oxides and three synthetic iron oxides, to determine the mechanism by which lead accumulates in the manganese oxides in soils. Adsorption of lead by the manganese oxides was up to 40 times greater than that by the iron oxides, and lead was adsorbed more strongly than any of the other ions studied by all of the oxides except goethite. This is considered to be the reason for the accumulation of lead in the manganese oxides in soils. No evidence was found for the oxidation of lead, nor for the formation of specific lead-manganese minerals.