Sorption of chromium in soils of the Cerrado Goias, Brazil

Abstract

Land application of tannery sludge, which usually contain high levels of chromium, and considerable amounts of organic matter, macronutrients and micronutrients may contribute to the improvement of soil fertility and plant nutrition, and constitutes a form of disposal residue in the environment. The objective of this work was to determine the sorption isotherms of metal chromium (Cr+3) in a Ultisol, Oxisol Typic Acrustox, Quartzipsamment and Kandic Oxisol, identify soil classes that are prone to chromium mobility, and characterize the potential of agricultural soils of Goiás that are subject to groundwater contamination by the potentially toxic metal. For the establishment of sorption isotherms, solutions were prepared at 1:10 in volume. Air dried samples of 5.0 cm3 of each class of soil were placed in triplicates in beakers of 250.0 cm3. A solution containing 50.0 cm3 of the potentially toxic metal was added to solution. The solutions were prepared in CaCl2.(2H2O) (0.01 mol.L-1) as electrolyte support and employing the basic chromium sulphate as a source of metal. Adjustments were made to the polynomial regression between the concentrations of potentially toxic levels of metal contaminants in the solution depending on the concentration of metal in the filtered solution after equilibrium. The Quartzipsamment showed lower retention compared to other classes of soils. Therefore it is more vulnerable to groundwater contamination if industrial wastes containing trivalent chromium are used as fertilizer.