SOUZA, Ramara Sena de.; CHAVES, Lúcia Helena Garófalo.
Abstract:
Heavy metal can be added to the soils through disposal of city wastes, sewage sludge and a
variety of agricultural treatments. Its availability to plants, persistency and mobility in soils are
determined by the extent of its adsorption by soil particles. This study was carried out to obtain
quantitative relationship between Zn, Cu and Cd in equilibrium solution and those retained by
Argisol, Plinthosols and Cambisol from Camará watershed, Paraiba State, using Langmuir
model. In order to quantify these adsorbed elements, 2 g of air-dried soil were equilibrated with
20 mL of solution containing different quantities of Zn (5 - 50 mg L-1), of Cu (5 - 80 mg L-1) and
of Cd (20 - 200 mg L-1). The study showed that Langmuir model offered a good fit for Zn, Cu
and Cd. Zinc was