Mathematical Models of Potassium Release Kinetics for Sonoran Desert Soils of Arizona

摘要

The objective of this study was to determine the potassium (K) release kinetics of clay samples from 10 agricultural representative soils of Arizona by successive extraction using Ca-saturated cation resin. A 1993 physical and chemical characterization of the soils revealed that all soils contain smectite-mica K bearing minerals. Four mathematical models (power function, Elovich, parabolic diffusion and first-order) were used to describe the nonexchangeable K release reaction involving 700-hr cumulative reaction time. Comparison of the models using the coefficient of determination (r²) and the standard error of the estimate (SE) indicated that the Elovich and the power function equations overall displayed the best fit. The first-order rate and for the most part, the parabolic diffusion equation did not describe the K release very well. The constants a and b for the Elovich and the power function equations, which represent the intercept and the release rate of the nonexchangeable K respectively, are at least in the order of magnitude as those found by others in several previous studies.