Background:

The presence of aluminum in the soil solution is one of the main factors that contribute to its acidification. High levels of soluble aluminum are harmful to plants because they limit their growth in strongly acid soils. Neutron activation analysis is a nuclear technique that allows to identify and quantify minerals present in different matrices; it is a very sensitive analytical technique that can be used in research of scientific and technological interest.

Objective:

the objective of the research was to determine the total aluminum content in soil samples through nuclear techniques.

Methodology:

Eight soil samples from the Eastern Region of Paraguay were used for the study. The determination was made according to the methodology described by Iturbe (2003). The data were made in triplicate, digitized in an Excel 2007 ® spreadsheet (USA) and presented the values ​​according to their mean and standard deviation. Results: The technique used allowed to determine the presence of total aluminum in the eight soil samples analyzed, with the lowest aluminum value of 4.70 g/100 g and the highest 18.1 g/100 g.

Conclusions:

The analysis carried out through nuclear analytical techniques allowed to quantify the total aluminum content in the soils under study. The technique used requires a small amount of sample and can be applied to the study of other minerals present in soil.

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