Management of soils or sediments contaminated by metals requires to predict the migration of metallic cations, whose mobility depends both on the transport properties of the medium and chemical reactivity of the system (principally adsorption/desorption reactions). To study the adsorption of metallic cations (major and trace) in dynamic condition, transport experiments using columns have been carried out with a soil poor in carbonated minerals and organic matter. Considering that the reactivity of this soil was mainly due to swelling clay minerals, an adsorption model based on the adsorption properties of the Wyoming montmorillonite and built according to a multi-site ion exchanger theory has been integrated into a 1D transport code. The predictions given by this model were then compared with the breakthrough curves measured in this study and those reported in the literature. The study of the reactive transport of major cations highlighted the significant role of protons (even at near neutral pH), and validated the model for major cations (Na and Ca). However, the study concerning Zn (II) showed a discrepancy between the results obtained from batch experiments and those issued from column experiments, which could be attributed to the contribution of another sorbent phase (illite). Finally, the proposed adsorption model allowed reproducing with a good confidence experimental data reported from literature for adsorption of Zn (II) in dynamic conditions.
