Kinetics of Phosphate Sorption to Polygalacturonate‐coated Goethite

Biogenetic polysugars may affect the sorption characteristics of soil mineral particles in the rhizosphere. We hypothesized that polygalacturonate [PGA, (C 6 H 7 O 6 ) n − ] coatings on goethite reduce the diffusion of phosphate into the pores of the adsorbent. Goethite was preloaded with PGA (0–10 mg C g −1 ). The samples were characterized by N 2 and CO 2 adsorption, electrophoretic mobility measurements, and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (SEM‐EDX). The phosphate sorption kinetics was studied with batch experiments over 2 wk at pH 5 and an initial phosphate concentration of 250 μ M Pore volume and specific surface area of the goethite samples declined after PGA addition. The PGA coatings reduced the ζ‐potential of goethite from 42.3 to −39.6 mV at the highest C loading. With increasing PGA‐C content and decreasing ζ‐potential the amount of phosphate sorbed after 2 wk decreased linearly ( P < 0.001). Sorption of phosphate to pure and PGA‐coated goethite showed an initial fast sorption followed by a slow sorption reaction. At the smallest C loading (5.5 mg C g −1 ) the portion of phosphate retained by the slow reaction was smaller than for the treatment without any PGA, while at higher C loadings the fraction of slowly immobilized phosphate increased. Our results suggest that at low C‐loadings PGA impaired the intraparticle diffusion of phosphate. In contrast, the slow step‐by‐step desorption of PGA (<52% within 2 wk) or the diffusion of phosphate through PGA coatings or both are rate limiting for the slow phosphate reaction at C loadings > 5.5 mg C g −1