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Characterization of an Area Polluted by Copper and Zinc: the Relation between Soil Texture, Mineralogy and Pollutant Concentration
Author(s) -
RINAUDO Caterina,
GASTALDI Daniela,
ZERBINATI Orfeo,
FORNERO Elisa,
BERTA Graziella
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
acta geologica sinica ‐ english edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.444
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1755-6724
pISSN - 1000-9515
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-6724.2009.00141.x
Subject(s) - cation exchange capacity , fraction (chemistry) , total organic carbon , soil test , zinc , saturation (graph theory) , chemistry , clay minerals , copper , metal , mineralogy , environmental chemistry , soil texture , soil water , soil science , geology , chromatography , mathematics , organic chemistry , combinatorics
Twenty‐four soil samples were collected at three depths from an approximately 2.5 acre contaminated site in southern Piedmont (Italy) and then analyzed. The main soil parameters determined were: pH, Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), particle size distribution, total organic carbon (TOC) content and retained metal concentration. The mineral phases were identified by X‐Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD). All of the samples contained Zn and Cu resulting from industrial contamination during the last century, and those obtained at depths of 20–40 cm consistently showed the highest levels. To determine which size fraction was most active in the retention process, the samples were separated into four fractions (≤2 mm, ≤63 μm, ≤30 μm and ≤2 μm) and the amount of pollutant measured in each. It was found that metal retention was the highest in the clayey fraction, whose clay minerals were identified by XRPD after K + and Mg 2+ saturation, glycerol treatment and heating to 550° C. The clayey fraction was also the richest in TOC, and a direct correlation between TOC amount and metal retention was observed.