Mercury (II) Adsorption on Three Contrasting Chinese Soils Treated with Two Sources of Dissolved Organic Matter: I. Langmuir and Freundlich Isotherm Evaluation

The behavior and fate of mercury (Hg) in soil is mainly controlled by adsorption and desorption processes with various adsorbents, particularly dissolved organic matter (DOM). This study was conducted to assess the effect of DOM from wheat straw (DOMw) and swine manure (DOMs) on Hg (II) adsorption of black, red, and fluvo-aquic soils in China. Results showed that the Hg (II) adsorption isotherms fitted well with Langmuir and Freundlich equations. The maximum Hg (II) potential adsorption capacity by the three soils followed this trend: black soil > red soil > fluvo-aquic soil. The amount of Hg (II) adsorbed on the soils significantly decreased when DOMw and DOMs were added to the soil samples. Furthermore, the extent by which DOMw affected the Hg (II) adsorption of the three soils was higher than the effect of equivalent amounts of DOMs. Therefore, DOM is important to determine the fate of Hg (II) and control Hg (II) pollution in the environment.