Effect of Humus on Activity of Mineral-Bound Hg: III.Effect on Leachability and Transfer of Mineral-Bound Hg Under Acid Leaching Condition

Effects of humus fractions (fulvic acid, brown humic acid and grey humic acid) on the leachability and transferring activity of five types of mineral-bound Hg were investigated. Under the acid leaching condition: fulvic acid could promote leachability and vertical transference of all the mineral-bound Hg. Brown humic acid could retard the leaching and transferring processes of CaCO3-Hg, Fe2O3-Hg, MnO2-Hg and kaolinite Hg but not bentonite-Hg. Grey humic acid could greatly enhance residing ability of the mineral-bound Hg in the soil column and restrain them from vertical transferring. The effect of humus on leachability and transferring activity on the mineral-bound Hg was closely related to its ability to convert the mineral-bound Hg into organic-bound form and the transferability of the latter in the soil column. The characteristics of the mineral-bound Hg in speciation were the internal factors that determined the extent and rate of the influence of the humus.