A Rapid Centrifugation Method for Obtaining Soil Solution

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Abstract
A modified centrifugation technique for obtaining soil solutions was developed and compared to immiscible displacement technique using different immiscible liquids. Coefficients of variation and standard deviations for ionic composition of soil solutions obtained by the modified centrifugation method were consistently lower than those of immiscible liquids. Differences in the estimated concentrations and activities for Ca, Mg, K, and Al among the methods employed to obtain soil solutions were noticed. The largest disagreement between activity values occurred for Al species. Such discrepancies necessitate the use of the modified centrifugation technique to obtain soil solution especially when Al determination and speciation are critical. The modified centrifugation technique offers a reliable, rapid, contamination‐free, and inexpensive method for obtaining soil solution for chemical characterization. Practical aspects of the technique (relative centrifugal force, centrifugation time, and filtering materials) are discussed.

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