Influence of organic amendments on the sorption of pentachlorophenol on soils.

The influence of pH on the sorption of pentachlorophenol (PCP) onto three organic amendments, char, humic acid (HA) and peat, and the effect of organic amendments on PCP sorption to three kinds of soils were evaluated. The sorption of PCP on these sorbents fitted the Freundlich model well, suggesting that PCP sorption isotherms were nonlinear with exponential coefficient (N) value lower than 1. The PCP sorption capacity on three organic amendments and the N values increased with decreasing pH. The sorption capacities were in the order: char > HA > peat. Organic amendments resulted in an enhancement of sorption capacities of soils. The N values of PCP sorption on soils were decreased by char amendment and increased by HA and peat amendments. This study demonstrated that application of traditional organic amendments led to the enhancement of PCP sorption by soils. This information may aid both in predicting environmental fates of hydrophobic ionizable organic compounds and in developing remediation strategies for them.