The mobility of heavy metals in the soil is influenced by the soil, the clay mineralogy and the amount of metal. Aiming to evaluate the effect of bentonite clay on zinc and copper mobility, leaching columns of soil, filled with an Argisol, utilising increasing doses of bentonite (0, 30 e 60 t ha-1) and concentrations of zinc and copper (50, 250 e 450 mg kg-1) were submitted to a saturated and steady flow. The flux density, velocity, transport retardation factor, dispersion-diffusion coefficient and breakthrough curves were obtained. The transport parameters were determined using the DISP computational model. The results allow to conclude that the application of bentonite clay to the soil promoted the retention of the zinc and copper, mainly the last one, decreasing the concentration in leachate and reducing potential contamination risks. The bentonite clay application increased the soil retardation factor and decreased the dispersion-diffusion coefficients of the soil.
percolation; retardation factor; coefficient of dispersion-diffusion
