Modelling of aluminium speciation as a complement to laboratory-based analysis

Abstract

The toxic effects of Aluminium (Al) on fauna and flora are central to the acidification issue. Aluminium is a very strong buffer (Driscoll and Postek 1996; Skyllberg 1999; Simonsson 2000), therefore if water in a catchment falls from circum-neutral to lower pH due to acidification many of these excess hydrogen ions will displace Aluminium from the soil. The adverse effects of elevated Al in freshwaters have been shown in many studies, however the level of toxicity posed by Al is heavily dependant on the form it takes. Therefore when monitoring Al in freshwaters it is important to be able to differentiate between potentially toxic forms of Al and more benign forms. Speiciating Al in the laboratory for each sample taken is obviously the most effective method of quantifying the toxic and non-toxic forms of Al, however due to complexity and cost this is not a standard analysis in routine environmental monitoring. This report presents the results from a project evaluating computer software which can be used to speciate Al, and how well they can model Al speciation undertaken in the laboratory.

Published in

Rapport / Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Miljöanalys
2004, number: 2004:12
Publisher: Institutionen för miljöanalys, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

SLU Authors

• Cory, Neil

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/132778