Abstract
Mercury adsorption of HgCl2 and 2-methoxyethylmercury chloride (Aretan) (100 mg Hg L−1) was measured for three soil profiles from Morogoro, Arusha, and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The adsorption was investigated for the physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of the soils. All soil samples showed greater capacity for adsorption of Aretan than for HgCl2. In the Morogoro profile Hg adsorption decreased with depth but in the other two soils, the minimum adsorption occurred in the third horizon and increased both upwards and downwards. In the Morogoro profile, Aretan adsorption correlated well with pH. Adsorption of both Aretan and HgCl2 correlated well with the distribution of organic C and with the cation exchange capacity of the soils. In the Arusha and Dar es Salaam profiles Hg adsorption was not significantly correlated with any of the soil properties tested.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allison, L. E.: 1965, ‘Organic Carbon’, in Black, C. A. (ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties, American Society of Agronomy. Madison. pp. 1367–1378.
Aomine, S. and Inoue, K.: 1967, Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. (Tokyo) 13, 195.
Chapman, H. D.: 1965, ‘Cation-Exchange Capacity’, in Black, C. A. (ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties, American Society of Agronomy. Madison. p. 891–901.
Day, P. R.: 1965, ‘Particle Fractionation and Particle-Size Analysis’, in Black, C. A. (ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1. Physical and Mineralogical Properties, Including Statistics of Measurement and Sampling, American Society of Agronomy. Madison, p. 545–567.
D'Itri, F. M.: 1972, ‘Sources of Mercury in the Environment’, in Hartung, R. and Dinman, B. D. (ed.), Environmental Mercury Contamination, Ann Arbor Science Publishers. Ann Arbor, Mich. p. 5–25.
Fang, S. C.: 1978, Environ. Sci. Technol,12, 285.
FAO/UNESCO: 1977, FAO-UNESCO soil map of the world. Volume VI. Africa. Unesco, Paris.
Farrah, H. and Pickering, W. F.: 1978, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 9, 23.
Feick, G., Johanson, E. E., and Yeaple, D. S.: 1972, Control of Mercury Contamination in Fresh Water Sediments, Environ. Prot. Technol Set. EPA-R2–72–077. Office of Research and Monitoring, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Washington, D.C.
Fimreite, N.: 1970, Environ. Pollut. 1, 119.
Gilmour, J. T. and Miller, M. S.: 1973, J. Environ. Qual. 2, 145.
Gowen, J. A., Wiersma, G. B., and Tai, H.: 1976, Pestic. Monit. J. 10, 111.
Hogg, T. J., Stewart, J. W. B., and Bettany, J. R.: 1978, J. Environ. Qual. 7, 440.
Inoue, K. and Aomine, S.: 1969, Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. (Tokyo) 15, 86.
Iskander, I. K., Syers, J. K., Jacobs, L. W., Keeney, D. R., and Gilmour, J. T.: 1972, Analyst 97, 388.
Jorgensen, P.: 1983, Personal communication.
Khalid, R. A., Gambrell, R. P., and Patrick Jr., W. H.: 1977, ‘Sorption and Release of Mercury by Mississippi River Sediment as Affected by pH and Redox Potential’, in Drucker, H. and R. E. Wildung (eds.), Biological Implications of Metals in the Environment, Proceedings of the 15th Annual Hanford Life Science Symposium, Richland, Washington. September 29–October 1, 1975. p. 297–314.
Kunze, G. W.: 1965, ‘Pretreatment for Mineralogical Analysis’, in Black, C. A. (ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1. Physical and Mineralogical Properties, Including Statistics of Measurement and Sampling, American Society of Agronomy. Madison. p. 568.
Lagerwerff, J. V.: 1972, ‘Lead, Mercury and Cadmium as Environmental Contaminants’, in Mortvedt, J. J., Giordano, P. M., and Lindsay, W. L. (eds.), Micronutrients in Agriculture, Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Madison. p. 593.
MacLean, A. J., Stone, B., and Cordukes, W. E.: 1973, Can. J. Soil Sci. 53, 130.
Semu, E., Singh, B. R., and Selmer-Olsen, A. R.: 1985, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 27, 141 (this issue).
Soil Survey Staff: 1975, Soil Taxonomy: A Basic System of Soil Class cation for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys, Handbook No. 436, USDA. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Stuanes, A.: 1976, Acta Agric. Scand. 26, 243.
Trost, P. B. and Bisque, R. E.: 1972, ‘Distribution of Mercury in Residual Soils’, in Hartung, R. and Dinman, B. D. (eds.), Environmental Mercury Contamination, Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Ann Arbor, Mich. pp. 178–196.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Semu, E., Singh, B.R. & Selmer-Olsen, A.R. Adsorption of mercury compounds by tropical soils. Water Air Soil Pollut 27, 19–27 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00464766
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00464766