SREL Reprint #2147

Aluminum

Paul M. Bertsch, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina
Paul R. Bloom, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota

Introduction: Aluminum is among the more important and commonly analyzed constituents in natural waters, soils, sediments, geological materials, and plant tissues, both because it is an ubiquitous element in soil and geological systems and because, when present in elevated concentrations, Al can be a powerful toxicant to plants and aquatic organisms. Minerals containing significant quantities of Al are the aluminosilicates which include the feldspars, micas, kaolins, smectites and most other phyllosilicate minerals. Aluminum also is a primary component of other nonsilicate minerals that occur in soils and geological materials, including such minerals as gibbsite [Al(OH)3], variscite [AlPO4 · 2H2O], and Al sulfates like alunite [KAl3(OH)6(SO4)2] or basaluminite [Al4(OH)10SO4 · 5H20].

SREL Reprint #2147

Bertsch, P. M. and P. R. Bloom. 1996. Aluminum. pp. 517-550 In: D. L. Sparks. (Ed.). Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 3. Chemical Methods. Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).