Using synthetic models to simulate aging of Cu contamination in soils

The Bureau Commun de Référence (BCR) sequential extraction scheme and micro-synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence (μ-SXRF) analysis were used to determine the Cu fractionation in a calcareous vineyard soil and a synthetic soil (mixture of seven constituents: calcite, birnessite, ferrihydrite, goethite, lignocellulosic residue, kaolinite, and quartz) at different Cu contamination rates (190, 1270, and 6350 mg kg⁻¹of Cu) and aging times (1, 30, 92, and 181 days). The Cu distribution in the spiked vineyard and synthetic soils was different from the original vineyard one and was influenced by the loading level. The newly added Cu was preferentially present in the acid soluble fraction. Aging of the contaminated vineyard and synthetic soils during 6 months led to the redistribution of Cu from the weakly bound acid soluble fraction to the strongly bound reducible one. The evolution with time could satisfactorily be simulated by the Elovich diffusion model for the synthetic soils. It was less significant as less marked in the contaminated vineyard soil than in the synthetic one, even though the trends observed in both were similar. This study supported the hypothesis that “simple” synthetic models could be used to approach the Cu fractionation and its evolution with time in vineyard soils.