Quantification of Exchangeable Cations Using Soil Water Retention Curve
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 9
Abstract
The amount of exchangeable cation (EC) and cation types play important roles in fundamental soil behavior such as mechanical, hydraulic, chemical transport, and soil water retention (SWR). A methodology is proposed for the EC quantification of individual exchangeable cations using the SWR curve (SWRC) in . The methodology is based on a SWRC model for homoionic soils that links soil water content to the cation exchange capacity (CEC) and the type of the exchangeable cations by considering the explicit effect of cation hydration on soil water content. Using the principle of local thermodynamic equilibrium, the authors extend the SWRC model to include soils with multiple cation species, leading to the quantification of exchangeable cations in soils. A suite of natural and artificially mixed homoionic soils are used to examine the validity of the methodology. The results reveal that the predicted exchangeable cations agree with those obtained by an independent experimental method, all within difference in CEC, indicating the potential applicability of the methodology in quantifying exchangeable cations in soils.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF CMMI 1233063).
References
Akin, I. D. (2014). “Clay surface properties by water vapor sorption methods.” M.S. thesis, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Madison, WI.
Astera, M. (2014). The ideal soil: A handbook for the new agriculture, 1st Ed., SoilMinerals.com, Washington, DC.
ASTM. (2010). “Standard test method for measuring exchange complex and cation exchange capacity of inorganic fine-grained soils.” ASTM D7503, Reston, VA.
Bernal-Uruchurtu, M. I., and Ortega-Blake, I. (1995). “A refined Monte Carlo study of and hydration.” J. Chem. Phys., 103(4), 1588–1598.
Bower, C. A. (1950). “Fixation of ammonium in difficulty exchangeable form under moist conditions by some soils of semi-arid regions.” Soil Sci., 70(5), 375–384.
Chang, F.-R. C., Skipper, N. T., Refson, K., Greathouse, J. A., and Sposito, G. (1998). “Interlayer molecular structure and dynamics in Li-, Na-, and K-montmorillonite-water systems.” ACS Symp. Ser., 715(1), 88–106.
David, D. (1960). “The determination of exchangeable sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium in soils by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry.” Analyst, 85(1012), 495–503.
Dohrmann, R., and Kaufhold, S. (2009). “Three new, quick CEC methods for determining the amounts of exchangeable calcium cations in calcareous clays.” Clays Clay Miner., 57(3), 338–352.
Dontsova, K. M., Norton, L. D., Johnston, C. T., and Bigham, J. M. (2004). “Influence of exchangeable cations on water adsorption by soil clays.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 68(4), 1218–1227.
Ellis, B., and Foth, H. (1996). Soil fertility, 2nd Ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Frydman, S., and Baker, R. (2009). “Theoretical soil-water characteristic curves based on adsorption, cavitation, and a double porosity model.” Int. J. Geomech., 250–257.
Gaston, L. A., and Selim, H. M. (1990). “Predicting cation mobility in montmorillonite media based on exchange selectivity of montmorillonite.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 54(6), 1525–1530.
Grim, R. E. (1962). Applied clay mineralogy, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Grim, R. E. (1968). Clay mineralogy, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Grove, J. H., Fowler, C. S., and Sumner, M. E. (1982). “Determination of the charge character of selected acid soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am., 46(1), 32–38.
Hassanizadeh, M., and Gray, W. G. (1979). “General conservation equations for multiphase systems. 2: Mass momenta, energy and entropy equations.” Adv. Water Resour., 2(1), 191–203.
Hassanizadeh, M., and Gray, W. G. (1980). “General conservation equations for multiphase systems. 3: Constitutive theory for porous media flow.” Adv. Water Resour., 3(1), 25–40.
Hu, J., Xiao, X. D., Ogletree, D. F., and Salmeron, M. (1995). “Imaging the condensation and evaporation of molecularly thin films of water with nanometer resolution.” Science, 268(5208), 267–269.
Israelachvili, J. N. (2011). Intermolecular and surface forces, 3rd Ed., Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Keren, R., and Shainberg, I. (1975). “Water vapor isotherms and heat of immersion of Na/Ca-montmorillonite systems. I: Homoionic clay.” Clays Clay Miner., 23(3), 193–200.
Khorshidi, M. (2015). “Soil-water interaction at high soil suction.” Ph.D. thesis, Colorado School of Mines, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Golden, CO.
Khorshidi, M., and Lu, N. (2016a). “Intrinsic relation between soil water retention and cation exchange capacity.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 04016119.
Khorshidi, M., and Lu, N. (2016b). “Soil water retention-based methodology for classification of expansive soils.” Proc., Geo-Chicago 2016, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Khorshidi, M., and Lu, N. (2017). “Determination of cation exchange capacity from soil water retention curve.” J. Eng. Mech., 04017023.
Khorshidi, M., Lu, N., Akin, I. D., and Likos, W. J. (2016c). “Intrinsic relationship between specific surface area and soil water retention.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 04016078.
Khorshidi, M., Lu, N., and Khorshidi, A. (2016d). “Intrinsic relationship between matric potential and cation hydration.” Vadose Zone J., 15(11), in press.
Laird, D., and Fleming, P. (2008). “Analysis of layer charge, cation and anion exchange capacities and synthesis of reduced charge clays.” Methods of soil analysis. 5: Mineralogical methods, A. L. Ulery and R. L. Drees, eds., Soil Science Society of America, Fitchburg, WI.
Laird, D. A. (1999). “Layer charge influences on the hydration of expandable 2:1 phyllosilicates.” Clays Clay Miner., 47(5), 630–636.
Lal, R., and Shukla, M. K. (2004). Principles of soil physics, Marcel Dekker, New York.
Likos, W. J., and Lu, N. (2006). “Pore-scale analysis of bulk volume change from crystalline interlayer swelling in Na- and Ca-smectite.” Clays Clay Miner., 54(4), 515–528.
Lu, N., and Khorshidi, M. (2015). “Mechanisms for soil-water retention and hysteresis at high suction range.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 04015032.
Lu, N., and Likos, W. J. (2004). Unsaturated soil mechanics, Wiley, New York.
Mähler, J., and Persson, I. (2012). “A study of the hydration of the alkali metal ions in aqueous solution.” Inorg. Chem., 51(1), 425–438.
McCartney, J. S., and Rosenberg, J. E. (2011). Impact of heat exchange on the axial capacity of thermoactive foundations, GeoFrontiers, Dallas.
McKenzie, N. J., Jacquier, D. J., Isbell, R. F., and Brown, K. L. (2004). Australian soils and landscapes: An illustrated compendium, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
Mitchell, J. K., and Soga, K. (2005). Fundamentals of soil behavior, Wiley, New York.
Prost, R., Benchara, A., and Huard, E. (1998). “State and location of water adsorbed on clay minerals: Consequences of the hydration and swelling-shrinkage phenomena.” Clays Clay Miner., 46(2), 117–131.
Quirk, J. P. (1955). “Significance of surface areas calculated from water vapour sorption isotherms by use of the B.E.T. equation.” Soil Sci., 80(6), 423–430.
Rayment, G. E., and Higginson, F. R. (1992). Australian laboratory handbook of soil and water chemical methods, Inkata Press, Port Melbourne, Australia.
Revil, A., and Lu, N. (2013). “Unified water sorption and desorption isotherms for clayey porous materials.” Water Resour. Res., 49(9), 5685–5699.
Ross, D. S., and Ketterings, Q. (2011). “Recommended methods for determining soil cation exchange capacity.” Recommended soil testing procedures for the northeastern United States, 3rd Ed., A. Wolf and J. McGrath, eds., Northeastern Regional Publications, College Park, MD.
Shainberg, I., and Letey, J. (1984). “Response of soils to sodic and saline conditions.” Hilgardia, 52(2), 1–57.
Skoog, D. A., Holler, F. J., and Stanley, R. C. (2006). Principles of instrumental analysis, 6th Ed., Brooks Cole, Independence, KY.
Sposito, G. (2008). The chemistry of soils, 2nd Ed., Oxford University Press, New York, 330.
Sposito, G., and Chu, S.-Y. (1981). “The statistical mechanical theory of groundwater flow.” Water Resour. Res., 17(4), 885–892.
Sposito, G., and Chu, S.-Y. (1982). “Internal energy balance and the Richards equation.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 46(5), 889–893.
Sumner, M. E., and Miller, W. P. (1996). “Cation exchange capacity and exchange coefficients.” Methods of soil analysis. 3: Chemical methods, D. L. Sparks, ed., Soil Science Society of America, Fitchburg, WI.
Thomas, G. W. (1982). “Exchangeable cations.” Methods of soil analysis, Part 2, 2nd Ed., A. L. Page, et al., eds., ASA and SSSA, Madison, WI.
Tuller, M., and Or, D. (2005). “Water films and scaling of soil characteristic curves at low water contents.” Water Resour. Res., 41(9), W09403.
van Genuchten, M. T. (1980). “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44(5), 892–898.
van Olphen, H. (1977). An introduction to clay colloid chemistry, 2nd Ed., Wiley, New York.
Warncke, D., and Brown, J. R. (1982). “Potassium and other basic cations.” Recommended chemical soil test procedures for the north central region, J. R. Brown, ed., Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO.
Watson, M. E., and Isaac, R. A. (1990). “Analytical instruments for soil and plant analyses.” Soil testing and plant analysis, 3rd Ed., R. L. Westerman, ed., SSSA, Madison, WI.
Woodruff, W. F., and Revil, A. (2011). “CEC-normalized clay-water sorption isotherm.” Water Resour. Res., 47(11), W11502.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 25, 2016
Accepted: Feb 23, 2017
Published online: Jun 7, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Nov 7, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.