liming a lake to neutralize acid rain?

Question

Liming a lake to neutralize acid rain in it could seriously affect the availability of nutrients such as phosphate and molybdate, but not nitrate. Explain.

Answer 1

Lime can act as a solidification agent, and is used that way in wastewater treatment processes. Phosphate and molybdate salts, depending on the cation present, can be insoluble, and the presence of excess lime can speed up their precipitation, removing them from solution.

Nitrate salts are by and large soluble, so precipitation won't affect those salts.