Positive ions that are available in soils absorb on grain surfaces. The total sum of cations that can be absorbed bij a soil/sediment at a certain PH is defined by the cation-exchange capacity (CEC, in meq g-1: mol equivalents per gram). The uptake of cations is an important parameter in agriculture and the larger the CEC, the more cations can be absorbed to the soil. The CEC depends highly on the pH of soil and sediments, where the CEC decreases with decreasing PH (increasing acidity). The exchange of ions on sediments occurs commonly fast on geological time scales, but the kinetics of adsorption in natural environments is still poorly understood. The strength of the bonding between the cations and the sediments varies from weak Van der Waals bondings (physical adsorption) to strong chemical bonds. The CEC is widely used for agricultural assessment because it is a measure of general soil fertility as well as an indicator of structural stability because CED is capabel of enhancing development of shrinkage cracks. The list below shows the CEC for different types of minerals. The data indicate that the CEC can vary over 2 orders of magnitude for various types of , minerals and can vary one order of magnitude within one soil type. Cation exchange capacity for different types of sediment (Eisma, 1992; Locher and de Bakker, 1990):

Cation exchange capacity.

Solid phase extraction of trace elements

Sources, behaviour, and environmental and human health risks of high-technology rare earth elements as emerging contaminants.

Chromium is introduced into the environment by effluents in several industries. It is important to control this element since it is both toxic and carcinogenic. As its toxicity depends on its state of oxidation, it is especially interesting to determine its most abundant species, Cr(III) and Cr(VI). In this overview, we describe the requirements for chromium determination and speciation and review the analytical methods that have been used in these studies. Focusing in particular on developments since 2000, we examine the features of detection techniques, pre-treatments and applications of the various methods.

Chromium determination and speciation since 2000

Rare earth elements (REEs) comprise a group of 17 elements with very similar chemical and physical properties, which include scandium (Sc, Z = 21), yttrium (Y, Z = 39), and the lanthanides with successive atomic numbers (Z from 57 to 71). Lanthanides are the elements lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and lutetium (Lu). REEs are required in modern industry, and their use in agriculture yielded positive effects in terms of crop yield and body weight of poultry. However, the question of whether the use of REEs in agriculture yields an enrichment of these elements in the environment remains open. It was the aim of this review to summarize the data about REEs in soils with view to their content, fractions, availability, chemical behavior, and translocation in soils and to elucidate further research needs.

Rare Earth Elements in Soils

Effect of organic acids on adsorption and desorption of rare earth elements.

Separation of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in river and reservoir water with 8-hydroxyquinoline immobilized polyacrylonitrile fiber for determination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Jun Lian

Papers

Effect of organic acids on adsorption and desorption of rare earth elements.

Separation of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in river and reservoir water with 8-hydroxyquinoline immobilized polyacrylonitrile fiber for determination by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry