THE EQUILIBRIA OF K:Al EXCHANGE IN CLAY MINERALS AND ACID SOILS1

Conventional K: Al exchange isotherms for montmorillonite showed that Al³⁺ was strongly preferred to K⁺ in o-oin solutions. The exchange coefficient, K', calculated using the isotopically exchangeable K, was greater than unity and did not vary with the Al-saturation or with the initial pH of the AlCl₃ solutions. Isotherms for vermiculite, illite, and soils in o·oin solutions also showed Al³⁺-preference but unlike those for montmorillonite were not asymptotic to q_Al/q_o= 1, q_Al being the amount of adsorbed Al and q_o the total adsorbed (Al + K), indicating that some of the isotopically exchangeable K could not easily be exchanged by Al³⁺ ions; this difficultly exchangeable K (DEK) was estimated for each exchanger. K' values for vermiculite, illite, and soils were less than unity and did not vary with Al-saturation or initial pH if the isotopically exchangeable K was corrected for DEK. This showed that K⁺ was adsorbed more strongly than Al³⁺. Strengths of K⁺ adsorption referred to Al³⁺ as the counter-cation were in order: soils > vermiculite, illite > montmorillonite.