Sorption of organic pollutants by marine sediments: Implication for the role of particulate organic matter

Zhiqiang Yu, Weilin Huang, Jianzhong Song, Yaorong Qian, Ping'an Peng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

The objective of this study was to quantify sorption properties for kerogen/black carbon (BC)-bearing sediments. Single-solute sorption isotherms were measured for five pristine marine sediments using phenanthrene, naphthalene, 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene as the sorbates. The results showed that the sorption isotherms were nonlinear and that the organic carbon normalized single point KOC values were comparable to those reported in the literature for the purified keorgen and BC, but are much higher than the data reported for HA and kerogen/BC-containing terrestrial soils and sediments. It is likely that koergen and BC associated with these pristine marine sediments may not be encapsulated with humic acids or Fe and Mn oxides and hydroxides as often do in terrestrial soils and sediments. As a result, they may be fully accessible to sorbing molecules, exhibiting higher sorption capacities. The study suggests that competition from background HOCs and reduced accessibility when kerogen and BC are associated with terrestrial sediments may dramatically increase variability of sorption reactivities of geosorbents. Such variability may lead to large uncertainties in the prediction of sorption from the contents of kerogen and/or BC along with TOC.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2493-2501
Number of pages9
JournalChemosphere
Volume65
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2006

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • General Chemistry
  • Pollution
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

Keywords

  • Black carbon
  • Desorption hysteresis
  • Hydrophobic organic pollutants
  • Kerogen
  • Sedimentary organic matter
  • Sorption

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