Transport of Lead (Pb2+) Ions through silty-clayey soils under acidic conditions

This study aimed to identify effects of pH on the transport of Pb2+ ions through a saturated silty-clayey soil layer by using advection-dispersion equation (ADE). The predictive accuracy of the solution of ADE depends on the proper determination of the retardation by adsorption and, therefore, the adsorption mechanism of lead onto silty-clayey soil was investigated first by performing batch equilibrium experiments. These results showed that the sorption mechanism of lead onto silty-clayey soil depended on pH and could be best described by the Langmuir isotherm. Based on the results of the sequential experiments, it was also concluded that the pH dependent charges in silty-clayey soil were mainly associated with the surfaces of carbonates and the specific adsorption of lead ions. The numerical solutions of the combined form of ADE with the Langmuir isotherm indicated that the migration profiles of lead in silty-clayey soil were a strong function of the parameters of the Langmuir isotherm rather than the infiltration velocity. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V