ABSTRACT
An important goal, if not the goal, associated with the study of soil chemical characteristics and processes is to predict the fate and behavior of substances in the soil environment. One mechanism to achieve this goal is through the application of chemical thermodynamics. Thermodynamics may be viewed as a tool for predicting the composition of a system at equilibrium. Although it is true that a soil is dynamic and as a whole does not achieve equilibrium, equilibrium with respect to various soil components, within and between soil phases, does occur. Moreover, while equilibrium conditions may not prevail for a particular set of components, the application of chemical thermodynamics can indicate the direction in which a reaction in the soil environment will proceed and, ultimately, the equilibrium state.
