Soilwater interaction in the environment 99

6
H Mg
Al
Heat of wetting (wH, %) Fe Na
Ba
4
K Ca
Ca
3 A1
Natural soil Marshall subsoil
Na K
Cecil subsoil
H Fe
0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
Activity (A)

Figure 4.7 Heat of wetting versus activity, A, between natural and homoionic soils.
Source: From Foundation Engineering Handbook, 2nd Edition, H. Y. Fang, ed., ch. 3, Soil Technology and Engineering
Properties of Soils, Winterkorn, H. F. and Fang, H. Y., Copyright (1991) by Van Nostrand Reinhold, with kind
permission of Springer Science and Business Media.

1.2

Na
1.0
Water intake (%)

Ca
0.8 Mg
A1
Ba

0.6 Fe H
K

0.4
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
Activity (A)

Figure 4.8 Water intake ability versus activity, A, between natural and homoionic soils.
Source: From Foundation Engineering Handbook, 2nd Edition, H.Y. Fang, ed., ch. 3, Soil Technology and Engineering
Properties of Soils, Winterkorn, H. F. and Fang, H. Y., Copyright (1991) by Van Nostrand Reinhold, with kind
permission of Springer Science and Business Media.

4.5 Water intake ability and sorption

4.5.1 Water intake ability

A soils water intake ability is defined as the maximum amount of water that it can
absorb at a given time. Figure 4.8 presents water intake ability versus activity, A, for
natural and homoionic preparations of Putnam soil (Heavy Missouri silt loam).
100 Soilwater interaction in the environment

4.5.2 Sorption characteristics

1 General discussion: Soilwater interaction in the environment may involve
sorption, absorption and adsorption reactions. These reactions are influenced by
soil types, particle size, bonding energy between particles and these factors are all
influenced by local environments such as temperature, pore fluids, etc. However, in
geotechnical engineering, these terms are not clearly defined and in most cases, terms
such as water content, degree of saturation and water absorbing capacity are used to
describe soilwater behavior. However, these terms tell only part of the story, and in
order for us to understand soilwater interaction, it is necessary to further examine
the characteristics of sorption, absorption, and adsorption phenomena.
2 Sorption mechanisms: When water is added to dry or partially saturated soil,
the water will be absorbed by soil. This simple statement covers three complex
processes: sorption, absorption, and adsorption.
Table 4.3 illustrates these three water intake processes. In examining Table 4.3 in
terms of the particle energy field approach (Ch. 1), absorption is a form of mechani-
cal energy. However, adsorption involves several forms (multimedia energy) and is
controlled by physical and physicochemical processes. The term sorption is a general
term which covers both absorption and adsorption processes. One example commonly
given to differentiate between adsorption and absorption is the case of a sponge which
will absorb water, as opposed to charcoal, which will adsorb acetic acid. Alternatively,
adsorption is typically considered as occurring at a surface, as opposed in absorption
which represents penetration into the soil matrix. From these simple discussions, we
learn the following significant points relative to practical applications in geotechnical
engineering: (a) for two given soil samples at the same water content, two different
types of behavior may result. These differences will depend on the flow path direction
and sorption characteristics; (b) in situ water content of soil includes both absorption
and adsorption waters. The relative amount of these waters depends on the soil type
and local environmental conditions. In general, fine-grained soils are more sensitive to
the local environment than cohesionless soil. In particular, cohesive soil is more likely
to have both types of water than cohesionless soil; and (c) the degree of saturation
alone cannot be used to indicate the water absorbing capacity of soil.
3 Water sorption: Vees and Winterkorn (l967) presented a series of laboratory
experiments with homoionic clays as shown in Figure 4.9. Figure 4.9 shows the

Table 4.3 Sorption, absorption, and adsorption relating to water types in the
soilwater system

Environmental water

1 Solid solution (at solidwater interface)

2 Double layer water
3 Hydrated water or/and hydration water Adsorption
4 Osmotic water Sorption
5 Oriented water (at airwater interface)
6 Free water Absorption
7 Gravity water
 Soilwater interaction in the environment 101

1
Water sorption (m1/g)

0.8

0.6

AI Ca
0.4
Th Mg Na
0.2 Kaolinite

0
0.5 1 5 10 50 100 500 1000 5000
Time (min)

Figure 4.9 Water sorption as a function of type of exchangeable ions and time for kaolinite clay.
Source: Vees, E. and Winterkorn, H. F. Engineering properties of several pure clays as functions of mineral type,
exchange ions, and phase composition. In Highway Research Record No. 209, Highway Research Board. National
Research Council,Washington, DC, 1967, pp. 5565. Reproduced with permission of the Transportation Research
Board.

water sorption of kaolinite powder as a function of the type of exchange ion and
time. Th-clay (Thorium) shows the highest initial sorption rate and the lowest
ultimate intake. This is to be expected from its flocculated structure and its low
water affinity. For the other ions the picture is not so clear-cut. This is due to the
interaction between absorption and adsorption processes with respect to the types
of ion exchange reaction in the soil. Considering the relatively low base exchange
capacity of the kaolinite, the observable ion effect appears to be markedly influenced
by the type of secondary structure induced by the different cations rather than by the
individual water affinities of the ions themselves.
Of particular interest is the closeness in rate and final volumes in the water sorption
by Na- and Mg-kaolinite. It also illustrates, to some extent, how increasing the
cation valence reduces the affinity of water to the clay surface. As such, the rate of
water intake and the ultimate volume increase with increasing exchange ion valency.
Table 4.4 presents liquid sorption of oven-dry clays for three clay minerals with
water, H2O and dimethyl sulfoxide (CH3)2SO (DMSO). DMSO is a commercial
solvent chemically related to acetone (CH3)2CO. It is a colorless liquid, completely
miscible with water and extremely hygroscopic. Properties of special interest in
geotechnical engineering are its solvent power for both water and many organic sub-
stances and its very rapid diffusion through hydrophilic systems. In examining
Table 4.4, for all clays except kaolinite, the final sorption data were higher for water
than for DMSO. The respective ratios were 7.2 for bentonite, l.45 for attapulgite, and
0.7 for kaolinite. In all cases, except for attapulgite with DMSO, the sorption values
were higher than the corresponding liquid limit (Sec. 2.5) values, indicating that slight
102 Soilwater interaction in the environment

Table 4.4 Liquid sorption of oven-dry clays

Time Kaolinite Attapulgite Bentonite

H2O DMSO H2O DMSO H2O DMSO

1h 0.782 0.958 2.640 1.890 0.304 1.334

1 day 0.868 1.040 2.928 2.128 0.880 1.480
6 days 1.024 1.454 3.330 2.304 1.714 1.516
Final 1.930 1.460 3.340 2.910 11 1.520
H2O/DMSO ratio 0.7 1.45 7.2
Source: Andrews, R. E., Gawarkiewicz, J. J., and Winterkorn, H. F. Comparison of the interaction of three clay
minerals with water, dimethyl sulfoxide, and dimethyl formamide. In Highway Research Record No. 209,
Highway Research Board. National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1967, pp. 6678. Reproduced with
permission of the Transportation Research Board.
Notes
Unit of liquid sorption  ml/g clay.
H2O  Water; DMSO  Dimethyl sulfoxide (CH3)2SO (DMSO).

Table 4.5 Time required to absorb maximum amount of water

Material Maximum potential Time required to

for absorbed water, absorb maximum
% of dry weight amount of water

Kaolin 90 20 min
Mica 125 25 sec
Ca-Montmorillonite 300 40 min
Na-Montmorillonite 700 600 min (10 h)

disturbance would put the saturated systems into the liquid state. In the case of
attapulgite the sorption value at any given time was higher for water than for DMSO,
while in the case of bentonite the amount of liquid sorbed was for the first few days
higher for DMSO than for water. The sorption values for kaolinite, the same as the
corresponding liquid limit values, indicate a greater affinity for DMSO than for
water. Experiments such as these clearly indicate the importance of soil type,
exchangeable ions, and pore fluid on sorption phenomenon which in turn may
influence engineering behavior.

4.5.3 Saturation and absorption phenomena

In many cases, the term absorption is used rather loosely. The degree of saturation is
commonly used as an indication of the extent of water absorption in soil. Water con-
tributing to the degree of saturation may however involve both absorption and
adsorption phenomena. Water in the absorbed state is easily influenced by gravity
and evaporation. The characteristics of adsorption phenomena are complex, and are
discussed in Section 4.6. Table 4.5 illustrates the potential for water absorption
exhibited by various types of clay. The water affinity of clay minerals is a function of
temperature also, and decreases with increasing temperature.