Summary
The ion exchange behavior of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd) in soils is shown to be strongly influenced by complex formation with tetraethylenepentamine (tetren). In a heavy clay (illite) soil, the metal (complex) concentration in the equilibrium solution is lowered by some two orders of magnitude, as compared to the aqueous metal ions. In a sandy loam, in which the exchange properties are nearly exclusively due to organic matter, the addition of tetren leads to a significant increase of the metal (complex) in solution.
These effects are interpreted in terms of the high adsorption selectivity of the metal complexes for clay particles (illite clay) and the competition of tetren with the chelating groups of the humic fraction (sandy loam). In this case the resulting tetren complexes remain in solution and can be immobilized by addition of small amounts of clay to such a soil.
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Contribution No 1872 of the Radiation Protection Programme of the Commission of the European Communities.
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Smeulders, F., Maes, A., Sinnaeve, J. et al. In situ immobilization of heavy metals with tetraethylenepentamine (tetren) in natural soils and its effect on toxicity and plant growth. Plant Soil 70, 37–47 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374748
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374748