Dependence of cadmium, lead, and copper speciation on soil pH and temperature using VISUAL MINTEQ
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/mla.2025.23951Abstract
Soil contamination by heavy metals poses a significant threat to the environment and human health, primarily due to the toxicity of these metals and their ability to accumulate in organisms. To determine how soil pH and temperature affect the chemical speciation, mobility, and immobilization potential of cadmium (Cd²⁺), lead (Pb²⁺), and copper (Cu²⁺). The main hypothesis posits that as pH increases, the concentration of free heavy metals decreases due to the formation of complexes and precipitation, whereas an increase in temperature accelerates the kinetics of chemical reactions, thereby altering metal activity. Using the Visual MINTEQ modeling tool, simulations were carried out under various pH (4–8) and temperature (15–40 °C) conditions. The results showed that at lower pH, metal activity significantly increases; however, the influence of temperature is more complex–both positive and negative trends were observed depending on the metal. These findings provide a foundation for further research, particularly for optimizing strategies to immobilize contaminated soils. Nonetheless, certain observed trends diverged from initial assumptions and called for additional investigation.
Article in Lithuanian.
Kadmio, švino ir vario specifikacijos priklausomybė nuo dirvožemio pH ir temperatūros naudojant VISUAL MINTEQ
Santrauka
Dirvožemio užterštumas sunkiaisiais metalais kelia reikšmingą grėsmę aplinkai ir žmonių sveikatai, ypač dėl metalų toksiškumo bei jų gebėjimo kauptis organizmuose. Šio tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti, kaip dirvožemio pH ir temperatūra veikia kadmio (Cd²⁺), švino (Pb²⁺) ir vario (Cu²⁺) cheminę specifikaciją, mobilumą bei imobilizacijos potencialą. Didėjant pH laisvųjų sunkiųjų metalų koncentracija mažėja dėl kompleksų susidarymo ir nusėdimo, o temperatūros padidėjimas paspartina cheminių reakcijų kinetiką, keisdamas metalų aktyvumą. Naudojant VISUAL MINTEQ modeliavimą, atlikta simuliacija esant skirtingoms pH (4–8) ir temperatūros (15–40 °C) sąlygoms. Rezultatai parodė, kad esant žemesniam pH metalų aktyvumas reikšmingai padidėja, tačiau temperatūros poveikis yra sudėtingas – priklausomai nuo metalo, pastebimos tiek teigiamos, tiek neigiamos tendencijos. Gauti duomenys suteikia pagrindą tolesniems tyrimams, ypač siekiant optimizuoti užterštų dirvožemių imobilizacijos strategijas, nors kai kurios stebimos tendencijos neatitinka prielaidų ir reikalauja papildomos analizės.
Reikšminiai žodžiai: cheminė specifikacija, metalų mobilumas, sunkieji metalai, užterštas dirvožemis, VISUAL MINTEQ.
Keywords:
chemical speciation, metal mobility, heavy metals, contaminated soil, Visual MINTEQHow to Cite
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Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
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Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.