Effects of time, soil organic matter, and iron oxides on the relative retention and redistribution of lead, cadmium, and copper on soils

In order to predict the bioavailability of toxic metals in soils undergoing degradation of organic matter (OM) and iron oxides (IOs), it is vital to understand the roles of these soil components in relation to metal retention and redistribution with time. In this present work, batch competitive sorptions of Pb(II), Cu(II), and Cd(II) were investigated between 1 and 90 days. Results showed that competition affected Cd(II) sorption more than Cu(II) and Pb(II). The sorption followed the trend Pb(II) > > Cu(II) > Cd(II), irrespective of aging, and this high preference for Pb(II) ions in soils reduced with time. Removal of OM led to reduction in distribution coefficient (K d) values of ≈33 % for all cations within the first day. However, K d increased nearly 100 % after 7 days and over 1000 % after 90-day period. The enhanced K d values indicated that sorptions occurred on the long run on surfaces which were masked by OM. Removal of IO caused selective increases in the K d values, but this was dependent on the dominant soil constituent(s) in the absence of IO. The K d values of the IO-degraded samples nearly remained constant irrespective of aging indicating that sorptions on soil components other than the IO are nearly instantaneous while iron oxides played greater role than other constituents with time. Hence, in the soils studied, organic matter content determines the immediate relative metal retention while iron oxides determine the redistribution of metals with time