SORPTION OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS ON ANTHROPOGENIC HUMIC MATTER

Anthropogenic and natural humic materials were investigated as sorbents for hydrophobic solutes in aqueous solution. The first was taken from a brown coal wastewater pond. The measured sorption coefficients K-OC and K-DOM are close to literature values for both sorbents. This holds for particulate (sediments) as well as for dissolved materials (humic and fulvic acids). A modified solubility parameter concept is proposed to better understand the K-OC-K-OW correlation. It makes it possible to estimate sorption coefficients for nonpolar solutes based on their K-OW, if the delta value of the sorbent is known. On the other hand, measured sorption coefficients permit the calculation of this value, which can be considered a feature of the humic fraction under study. The mean delta value of humic organic matter estimated from sorption data in this paper is 12.5 +/- 0.5 (cal cm(-3))(1/2).