Fluorine adsorption by volcanic soils at Mt. Etna, Italy

Fluorine adsorption experiments were performed on 28 samples of the first 5 cm of topsoil collected on the flanks of Mt. Etna. The soil samples were equilibrated with F-rich rainwater (3.25 mg/L) at a soil/water weight ratio of 1/25. Aliquots of the supernatant were collected after 1, 7, 72, 720 and 5640 h and analysed for F content. The soil samples could be subdivided into three groups based on their F-adsorption behaviours after 1 h and at the end of the experiment: (1) negative adsorption (F released from the soil to the solution) after 1 h and negative or moderately positive adsorption at the end, (2) from negative after 1 h to strongly positive adsorption at the end, and (3) always strong positive adsorption. The adsorption capacity of the soils was positively correlated with the soil pH, the contents of finer granulometric fractions (clay and silt) and the weathering stage (as quantified by the chemical alteration index). The most F adsorbing soils are found at the periphery of the volcano where aquifers are more vulnerable to contamination due to the shallower depth of the water table. This study further evidences the importance of the Etnean soils in protecting groundwater from an excessive magmatic F input.