Cadmium is a heavy metal that may be added to the soils through tyre residues, oils, disposal of city wastes, sewage sludge and phosphatic fertilizers. It is easily absorbed and translocated in plants and has a great potential to enter in the human food chain, with serious problems to human health. The objective of this study was to evaluate Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms applied to cadmium adsorption on soils from the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Surface (0 - 0.2 m) and subsurface (B horizon) samples were taken from an Rhodic Kandiudalf (RK), an Anionic "Rhodic" Acrudox (RA) and an Anionic "Xanthic" Acrudox (XA). In order to quantify the adsorbed cadmium, 2 g of oven-dried soil were stirred in polyethylene tubes, for 24 h, with 20 mL of a Ca(NO3)2 0.0025 mol L-1 solution containing different quantities of cadmium (5, 10, 15, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175 e 200 mg dm-3). Langmuir and Freundlich constants were estimated by nonlinear regressions. Cadmium adsorption was well described by both Langmuir and Freundlich models for all soils. RK exhibited the highest values of maximum cadmium adsorption, obtained from Langmuir isotherm, and the least values were from the subsurface layers of the Oxisols. Both equations described well the cadmium adsorption, mainly when the concentration of cadmium added was higher than 50 mg dm-3.
cadmium; adsorption isotherms; Langmuir; Freundlich
