The effect of chitosan on copper mobility in soddy-podzolic soils and porous media

The adsorption characteristics of model porous media-quartz and bentonite-have been studied. It is shown that chitosan and copper ions affect these characteristics. A preferable interaction of Cu(II) ions with chitosan is observed in a mineral-heavy metal-plant system in the presence of chitosan, which increases the mobility of copper. As was demonstrated in a pot experiment, the uptake of Cu(II) ions by wheat seedlings grown in soil with added chitosan is 2.4 times higher than that in the control. The removal of chitosan with soil water fluxes increases with a decrease in pH values. The rate of chitosan mineralization in model systems under different temperature conditions and different chitosan concentrations has also been studied. It is shown that chitosan can be applied for phytoremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals.