EXERCISE 5

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL COLLOIDS

• Seat of the various chemical reactions in soils (<0.001 mm)

• Consist of ……

 inorganic colloids (clay)

 organic colloids (humus)

I. Clay Colloids

• Structurally, clay colloids can be grouped into….

 crystalline
 amorphous (non-crystalline)

Crystalline – atoms are in definite order that repeats extensively in 3 dimension

Ex. Si and O are linked in a definite pattern in a crystalline silicate
mineral

Amorphous – do not have a definite long-range atomic pattern

• Atomic arrangement can have interesting effects on the properties of

minerals
Ex. diamond – hardest and most valuable mineral
Graphite – one of the softest and less valuable mineral
→ the only difference is arrangement of the carbon atoms, the
composition (kind of atom) is the same.

• On the other hand, composition can be different but minerals can have
exactly the same crystal structure or atomic arrangement
Ex. KCl - bitter
NaCl - salty

→ KCl and NaCl have exactly the same atomic arrangement

• Most clay minerals are aluminosilicates where the major elements in their
structure are:

47% - Silicon (Si) three most abundant

27% - Oxygen (O) elements in the earth’s
8.13% - Aluminum (Al) crust
A. Crystalline silicate clays

• composed of sheet-structured aluminosilicates

• these aluminosilicates have various types depending on the ratio of
silica sheet to alumina sheet in the crystal structure
• each type does not occur in pure form in the clay fraction of soil, but
there is an intimate mixture of different clay minerals in a given soil

Grouping of silicate clay minerals based on the number of sheets of Si and

Al atoms in their unit layers.

1. Kandites - have one silicon (tetrahedral) sheet and one

aluminum (octahedral) sheet (1:1 type)
- simplest of the silicate clay mineral groups
- non-expanding clay type when wetted
- kaolinite, most prominent member
- others: halloysite, anauxite, dickite

Distinguishing properties of kandites from other clay minerals

a) 1-to-1 layer minerals

b) there is little substitution of Al for Si in the tetrahedral sheet or other
cations for Al in the octahedral sheet
c) the inter-layer between the 1-to-1 sheets is closed so that little
water and few cations can enter between the sheets

2. Smectites - 2:1 expanding type

- have one aluminum octahedral sandwiched
between two silicon tetrahedral sheets to make a
unit cell
- montmorillonite is the most important member of
the smectite group
- others: nontronite, saponite, hectonite, sauconite
- a soil that has montmorillonite as the dominant
clay shrinks when dry and swells when wet
because the clay crystal can expand and contract
as water enters or leaves from the interlayer space
- the structure and amount of isomorphous
substitution in this family is responsible for the
large number of clays in the smectite group
(Isomorphous substitution – substitution of one atom by
another of similar size in a mineral without disrupting or
changing the mineral structure)
- the large charge and the available interlayer
surface make smectites one of the most reactive
parts of the mineral fraction.
 3. Vermiculite - 2:1 limited expansion type
- one octahedral layer (alumina) found between two
tetrahedral layers (silica)
- there is considerable substitution of aluminum for
silicon in the tetrahedral layer of vermiculites
which accounts for most of the very high net
negative charge associated with this mineral.
Also, the amount of water and the kinds of cations
in the interlayer are more limited than in the
smectites, hence, expansion is less or limited.

4. Illites - 2:1 non-expanding type

- sometimes referred to as hydrous mica because it
is believed to be the weathering product of mica
- presence of K ion in the interlayer which acts as
binding agent, hence, contributes to the stability
and non-expanding nature of illite

5. Chlorite - 2:1:1 non-expanding type

- the additional layer is a magnesium hydroxide
(Mg6(OH)12 (brucite) sheet in the interlayer space
between 2:1 sheets
- relatively little water adsorption between the
chlorite crystal units which accounts for the
relatively non-expanding nature of the mineral

B. Amorphous silicate clays

• usually associated with relatively young soils derived from volcanic ash
and characteristically containing high organic matter (in the
Philippines)
• represented by allophane and imogolite
• allophane have high cation or anion exchange capacity which is
apparently pH-dependent
• allophane is thought to be a gel (jellylike) in soils, too poorly
crystallized for detection, hence, difficult to know exactly how it looks

C. Amorphous non-silicate clays

• occur as amorphous hydrous oxides of iron and aluminum

• do not have silicon as the main building block
II. Organic Colloids

• also inherent constituents of soils

• humus is colloidal soil organic matter that decomposes slowly and colors
soils brown or black

Humus has various attributes….

• high molecular weight organic product

• highly charged
• has a large surface area per unit mass

→ these attributes makes humus very reactive in soils

• is both a product that is synthesized (created) by micro-organisms and a

product of the breakdown or decomposition of other organic compounds
• in a dynamic state, always changing (not as stable as clay)
• composed basically of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
• CEC of humus per unit weight far exceeds even that of montmorillonite

Constituents of Humus

1. fulvic acid – lowest in molecular weight and lightest in color. Soluble in

both acid and alkali
2. humic acid – medium in molecular weight and color. Soluble in alkali but
insoluble in acid
3. humin – highest in molecular weight, darkest in color. Insoluble in
both acid and alkali