title: Influence of organic matter and solute concentration on nitrate sorption in batch and diffusion-cell experiments.
abstract: Nitrate sorption potentials of three surface soils (soils-1-3) were evaluated under different solute concentrations, i.e. 1-100 mg L(-1). Batch and diffusion-cell adsorption experiments were conducted to delineate the diffusion property and maximum specific nitrate adsorption capacity (MSNAC) of the soils. Ho's pseudo-second order model well fitted the batch adsorption kinetics data (R(2)>0.99). Subsequently, the MSNAC was estimated using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms; however, the best-fit was obtained with Langmuir isotherm. Interestingly, the batch adsorption experiments over-estimated the MSNAC of the soils compared with the diffusion-cell tests. On the other hand, a proportionate increase in the MSNAC was observed with the increase in soil organic matter content (OM) under the batch and diffusion-cell tests. Therefore, increasing the soil OM by the application of natural compost could stop nitrate leaching from agricultural fields and also increase the fertility of soil.
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036, India.
authors.forename: Neelancherry
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Remya
authors.forename: Mathava
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohan
authors.forename: Rafig
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Azzam
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D004058:Diffusion; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D007700:Kinetics; D009566:Nitrates / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000737:chemistry*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D009566:Nitrates; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012987:Soil