Kyo Suk Lee

Soil Physical and Hydraulic Properties over Terrace Adjacent Four Major Rivers

The soil does not only serve as a medium for plant growth but also for engineering construction purposes. It is very weak in tension, very strong in compression and fails only by shearing. The behaviour of the soil under any form of loading and the interactions of the earth materials during and after any engineering construction work has a major influence on the success, economy and the safety of the work. Soils and their management have therefore become a broad social concern. A limitless variety of soil materials are encountered in both agronomy and engineering problems, varying from hard, dense, large pieces of rock through gravel, sand, silt and clay to organic deposits of soft compressible peat. All these materials may occur over a range of physical properties, such as water contents, texture, bulk density and strength of soils. Therefore, to deal properly with soils and soil materials in any case requires knowledge and understanding of these physical properties.The desired value of bulk density varies with the degree of stability required in construction. Bulk density is also used as an indicator of problems of root penetration,soil aeration and also water infiltration. This property is also used in foundation engineering problems. While not conforming to standard test procedures, this work attempts to add to the basic information on such important soil parameters as water content, bulk density.

Mathematical Models of Competitive Adsorption of Inorganic Anions in Soils

Competition among anion species in solution for same sorption sites and soil surface can be of major significance in determining the effective mobility of any potentially adsorbing species. Major soil anion species include OH - , F - , Cl - , HCO₃ - , CO₃ - , NO₃ - , SO₄ 2- , and PO₄ 3- . And some micro nutrients such as boron and molybdenum exist as H₂BO₃- and MoO₄ 2- , as do some heavy metals such as chrome and arsenic as CrO₄ 2- and HAsO₄ 2- . Pesticides such as 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D also exist as anions. Many anion species are retained by more complex mechanisms than the simple electrostatic attractions involved in most cation adsorption reactions. In binary system composed of two anions, the adsorption of one anion is influenced by the other anion due to the competition for the available and limited binding sites in soil constituents. The specifically adsorbed anions may compete more effectively for sorption sites than that of nonspecifically adsorbed anion. In this study, we aim to evaluate the mathematical models to determine the magnitude of concentration variations in adsorption due to competitive interactions between anions introduced to a system in binary mixtures.

The Fate and Factors Determining Arsenic Mobility of Arsenic in Soil-A Review

Arsenic which is found in several different chemical forms and oxidation states and causes acute and chronic adverse health effects is a toxic trace element widely distributed in soils and aquifers from both geologic and anthropogenic sources. Arsenic which has a mysterious ability to change color, behavior, reactivity, and toxicity has diverse chemical behavior in the natural environment. Arsenic which has stronger ability to readily change oxidation state than nitrogen and phosphorus due to a consequence of the electronic configuration of its valence orbitals with partially filled states capable of both electron donation and acceptance although the electronegativity of arsenic is greater than that of nitrogen and similar to that of phosphorus. Arsenate (V) is the thermodynamically stable form of As under aerobic condition and interacts strongly with solid matrix. However, it has been known that adsorption and oxidation reactions of arsenite (III) which is more soluble and mobile than As(V) in soils are two important factors affecting the fate and transport of arsenic in the environment. That is, the movement of As in soils and aquifers is highly dependent on the adsorption– desorption reactions in the solid phase. This article, however, focuses primarily on understanding the fate and speciation of As in soils and what fate arsenic will have after it is incorporated into soils.