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A Practical Measurement Strategy to Estimate Nonlinear Chlorinated Solvent Sorption in Low f oc Sediments
Author(s) -
Wang Guohui,
AllenKing Richelle M.,
Choung Sungwook,
Feenstra Stanley,
Watson Robert,
Kominek Michael
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
groundwater monitoring and remediation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1745-6592
pISSN - 1069-3629
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6592.2012.01413.x
Subject(s) - sorption , partition coefficient , aqueous solution , chemistry , freundlich equation , adsorption , total organic carbon , organic matter , environmental chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , chromatography , organic chemistry
In this study, we tested a practical strategy useful for accurate chlorinated volatile organic compound ( cVOC ) sorption prediction. Corresponding to the feature of the superposition of adsorption due to thermally altered carbonaceous matter ( TACM ) with organic carbon‐water partitioning, a nonlinear Freundlich sorption isotherm covering a wide range of aqueous concentrations was defined by equilibrium sorption measurement at one or a few low concentration points with extrapolation to the empirical organic carbon‐water partition coefficient ( K oc,e ) near compound solubility. We applied this approach to obtain perchloroethene equilibrium sorption isotherm parameters for TACM ‐containing glacial sand and gravel subsoil samples from a field site in New York. Sorption and associated K oc,c applicable to low (5–500 µg/L) and high (>100,000 µg/L) aqueous concentrations were determined in batch experiments. (The K oc,c is the organic carbon‐normalized sorption partition coefficient corresponding to aqueous concentration C w .) The K oc,c measurements at low concentration (~5 µg/L) were 6 to 34 times greater than the K oc,e . The importance of this type of data is illustrated through presentation of its substantial impact on the site remedy. In so doing, we provide an approach that is broadly applicable to cVOC field sites with similar circumstances (low carbon content glacial sand and gravel with TACM ).