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INFLUENCE OF THE GENESIS CHARACTERISTICS OF FLUVISOLS DISTRIBUTED IN WESTERN GEORGIA ON THE ADSORPTION OF PHENOL AND M-CRESOL

Besik Kalandadze

Abstract

The influence of the noosphere on the natural environment is increasingly growing under modern conditions, which in many cases leads to critically dangerous consequences in terms of environmental pollution. The ecological situation is significantly worsened by phenolic compounds of exogenous origin, whose migration involves one of the primary stages – their physical absorption in soils. We investigated the adsorption peculiarities of phenol and m-cresol in Fluvisols distributed in Western Georgia. It was established that the sorption capacity of these soils toward the mentioned compounds shows a pronounced dependence on local (riparian zone, central zone) and regional (north-western and south-western) features of soil genesis, profile thickness, mechanical composition, soil reaction (pH), total humus content, and the dissociation constant of the compounds. It was determined that adsorption of phenol and m-cresol occurs through a chemical mechanism at low concentrations, whereas at higher concentrations it proceeds through a physical mechanism. Carbonate Fluvisols bind phenol and m-cresol in greater amounts than non-carbonate Fluvisols. The amount of adsorbed phenol and m-cresol in the Fluvisols of the riparian zone is lower than in the Fluvisols of the central zone.

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