Evaluation of the impact of organic matter composition on metal speciation in calcareous soil solution: Comparison of Model VI and NICA-Donnan

•The metal contamination distribution is evaluated with spatial distribution maps.•The metal speciation in soil solution of contaminated alkaline soils is studied.•Comparable speciation results are obtained with Model VI and NICA-Donnan.•The DOM nature greatly impacts the modelling results.

To assess the influence of the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on metal speciation, two models have been used: Model VI and NICA-Donnan. The speciation of Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in the soil solution of 36 samples characterized by alkaline pH and different contamination levels has been determined. Four assumptions about DOM composition have been tested: (i) 100% of humic substances (HS) are fulvic acids (FA), (ii) 100% are humic acids (HA), (iii) 35% are HA and 65% FA and (iv) 84% are HA and 16% FA. The results obtained with the two distinct models are of the same order of magnitude; however, few differences have been highlighted regarding the description of the non-specific interactions, the Zn–FA interactions and the lowest free ion concentrations. The main result of this study is that the free ion concentrations calculated with the two models may differ by one order of magnitude depending on whether HA and/or FA are used to represent DOM. This work demonstrates the impact of the assumptions made about the DOM nature for metal speciation modelling.

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