Soil characteristics studied by electrophoresis in stabilized medium

An experimental approach to study some characteristics of soils, such as buffer capacity, metal mobility, effects of pH on metal mobility, metal adsorption capacity, is proposed. It is based on an electrophoretic process in a stabilised medium, directly upon the soil matrix, with and without addition of aqueous solutions containing free metal ions (copper(II) and zinc(II)). Without the addition of metals, from the amounts present after the electrophoretic process in the different anode–cathode zones of the soil column, it is possible to obtain information about the mobility of metals in the soil. The capacity of the soil to retain metals can be evaluated in a semiquantitative way by adding free metal solutions [Cu(NO3)2] to the soil samples before the application of the electric field.