Adsorption and desorption of lanthanum at sulfide mineral surface

Batch adsorption experiment with four sulfide minerals - Chalcocite galena, pyrite and sphalerite - were used to study for the adsorption and desorp-tion behavior of La (III) in the presence of EDTA, a model humic matter. Linear adsorption was found in all cases.The presence of soluble organic complexing ligand should reduce the mobility of La (III) in porous media and its transport to groundwater in the percolating soil solution. Binding mechanism is proposed to account for this preferential binding behavior.