Applying models to soil

Abstract

The models considered so far in Part B have been “models of models”. That is, the reactions have been with adsorbants, such as goethite, that have been used as models of soil constituents. However soils are a good deal more complex. They obviously contain more than one constituent, and those constituents are far from pure. Further, the behaviour is different in several respects from that of pure substances. The effects of pH, though broadly similar, differ in detail; the effects of period of reaction are more marked; and the effects of concentration, as indicated by the shape of sorption graphs, are different. These differences are described in detail in Chapter A7 and the models that have been used to describe them are given in Chapter A8.