Sorption–desorption behavior of lateritic soils at low heavy metal concentrations
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Date
2026-05-13
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Elsevier
Abstract
The increasing solid waste production and leachate-related contamination risks demand effective containment
strategies, particularly in tropical regions where lateritic soils are widely considered for landfill liner applica
tions. This study investigates the sorption and desorption behavior of five heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, and Pb)
in lateritic soils derived from quartzite, migmatite, and charnockite parent rocks in southwestern Nigeria. Batch
equilibrium experiments were conducted using environmentally relevant metal concentrations (10–100 mg/L) to
simulate landfill leachate conditions. Physicochemical characterization revealed acidic to near-neutral pH
(4.61–6.73) and a wide range (4.55–14.44 meq/100 g) of cation exchange capacities (CEC), with quartzite
derived lateritic soil (QDLS) and migmatite derived lateritic soil (MDLS) exhibiting more favorable geotechnical
properties for containment applications despite their lower CEC. Adsorption efficiency increased with initial
concentration and varied with parent rock type and metal species, with Cd consistently demonstrating the
highest retention (up to 88.8% in MDLS), while Cu exhibited the weakest affinity. The observed selective
adsorption sequence observed across all lateritic soils shows the influence of mineralogical composition in
enhancing sorption capacity and contaminant attenuation. Sorption data were effectively described by both
Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models (R² ≥ 0.70 in 97% of cases), reflecting the heterogeneous nature of the
soils, with Cd exhibiting the highest maximum adsorption capacities of 42.43 mg/g in charnockite derived
lateritic soil (CDLS) and 33.38 mg/g in QDLS. Desorption experiments revealed partial reversibility, with hys
teresis indices ranging from 1.000 to 1.356, indicating varying risks of metal remobilization. These findings
suggest that lateritic soils, particularly those derived from quartzite and migmatite, are viable for landfill liner
applications due to their strong metal-binding potential and low desorption tendencies, although their perfor
mance may be limited by partial desorption under acidic conditions.
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Citation
1. Afolagboye, L. O., Onile-Ere, O. E., Rafiu, K. A., Owoyemi, O. O., & Daramola, S. O. (2026). Sorption-desorption behavior of lateritic soils at low heavy metal concentrations. Next Materials, 12, 102259. Published by Elsevier. Available online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxmate.2026.102259