Effect of Clay Minerals Adulterated in Sediments on Sorption Ability of Cu and Zn

The feasibility of illite and montmorillonite to immobilize Cu and Zn in the contaminated sediments was investigated by analyzing the adsorption capacities of illite and montmorillonite,the adsorption/desorption characteristics of the sediments before and after the clay minerals adulterating.The results indicate that the adulterated illite and montmorillonite reduce the adsorption capacity of Cu with the maximum decrease of 5.4% for illite and 3.8% for montmorillonite,and the adulterated illite also decreases the sequestration of Zn in the sediments with the maximum decrease of 4.4%,but the adulterated montmorillonite enhances the adsorption and sequestration ability of Zn into the sediments with the maximum increase of 5.7%.Therefore,the montmorillonite is recognized as the most suitable materials for stabilizing and immobilizing Zn in the contaminated sediments,but it can not enhance Cu stabilizing in polluted sediments.