Separation of nano-colloids in soils

The study of the physicochemical behaviour of colloids and particles in nature has emerged as a scientific problem of critical importance because of the widespread acknowledgement of their significance in controlling the speciation and fate of essential nutrients and contaminants in the aquatic and soil environments （Ledin et al., 1995; Lead et al., 1999, Doucet et al., 200 l; McCarthy et al., 1989; Koterba et al., 1993; Kretzschmar et al., 1999）. Se＇quaris and Lewandowski （2003） developed a method based on sedimentation and centrifugation steps to fractionate agricultural top soils after suspension in water. However, progress in the field has been limited by the lack of appropriate techniques for the isolation and characterization of colloids and particles in their native form （Lead et al., 1997）. The primary difficulties in separation and analysis are colloidal instability and their small size and low concentration. As a result, reliable, unbiased and minimally perturbing methods for sampling and fractionation are primary requirements for the study of colloids and particles if valuable information is to be obtained. In recent years, cross-flow ultra-filtration （CFUF） has become one of the most commonly used techniques for collecting and separating freshwater and marine colloids and particles （Petrus evski et al., 1995; Gustafsson et al., 1999; Benoit et al., 1999; Sigg et al., 2000; Gue＇guen et al., 2002; Benedetti et al., 2003）. CFUF has hitherto been used for studies of the biogeochemical cycling of a variety of elements, such as carbon （Benner et al., 1992; Santschi et al., 1998）, radionuclides （Moran et al., 1992）, trace metals （Reitmeyer et al., 1996） and nutrients （Bauer et al., 1996）. The purpose of this study was to develop a protocol to fractionate particles in soil, to measure particle size distributions and to quantify chemical characteristics within different particle size fractions.

Separation of nano-colloids in soils