Behavior of mercury, lead, cesium, and uranyl ions on four SRS soils

摘要

Samples of four Savannah River Site (SRS) soils were tested for sorption behavior with Hg(sup 2+), Pb(sup 2+), UO(sub 2)(sup 2+), and Cs(sup +) ions. The purpose of the study was to determine the selectivity of the different soils for these ions alone and in the presence of the competing cations, H(sup +) and Ca(sup 2+). Distribution constants, Kd's, for the test ions in various solutions have been determined for the four soils. In general, sorption by all of the soils appeared to be more complex than a simple ion exchange or adsorption process. In particular, the presence of organic matter in soil increased the capacity of the soil due to its chelating ability. Similar soils did not react similarly toward each metal cation.