Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the variation in the electrical conductivity and the mobilization of ions present in reject brine from desalination plant of brackish well water in three types of soil. The mobilization of the contaminant ions in the reject brine was studied in glass percolation columns, which were filled with soil of contrasting textures (eutrophic CAMBISOL, typic dystrophic Red OXISOL, ENTISOL Quartzipsamment). Experiments ware repeated three times each, and the initial and final concentrations of the ion contaminants were analyzed. The pollution potential of this residue was determined by the retardation factor and dispersion-diffusion coefficient of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, besides the variation of electrical conductivity along the profile of each soil studied. In the Red Oxisol, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ ions move with greater ease resulting in possibility largest of potential of ground water contamination. In Entisol Quartzipsamment presented higher Mg²⁺ (R) ion advancement speed, that is, higher subsurface contamination power for these ions. The eutrophic Cambisol presented low diffusion-dispersion coefficient in all the evaluated ions and, therefore, lower mobility of the ions in the soil profile, and consequently, a greater possibility of contamination when irrigated with reject brine.

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