Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2005DE59B

Nickel Sorption Kinetics at the Goethite/Water Interface: Effects of Ionic Strength and 2-[N-Morphalino]-ethanesulfonic acid (MES)

Institute: Delaware
Year Established: 2005 Start Date: 2005-06-01 End Date: 2006-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $1,750 Total Non-Federal Funds: $3,500

Principal Investigators: Donald Sparks

Project Summary: In order to test soils, minerals, and clay for environmental contaminants, researchers have been using inert organic buffers to keep the system at a constant pH. This condition is achieved by using an organic buffer material; a common buffer used is 2-[N-Morpholino] ethane-sulfonic acid (M.E.S). This buffer is of special significance in environmental chemistry because researchers assume that buffers such as M.E.S have no interaction with the surface, therefore, they do not compete for sites on the surface, and furthermore, do not skew the results of a contamination test. This assumption is, of course, an ideality, which is a condition that is not likely in the field of surface chemistry. If the buffers have any interaction at all with the surface either via inhibition of the overall surface interaction, or by claiming sites on the surface, the results of a contamination test would contain errors. Other research in this field has indirectly shown that buffers may in fact be sorbed and desorbed by the surface and interfere with testing for environmental contamination. The purpose of this study will be to access the reactivity of these buffers and further determine if there is an interaction between the buffer and the surface.