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Phenanthrene sorption to humic acids, humin, and black carbon in sediments from typical water systems in China

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Abstract

Humic acid (HA) and humin (HM) were extracted with 0.1 M NaOH and black carbon (BC) was isolated using a combustion method at 375°C from six sediments in different areas in China and their sorption isotherms for phenanthrene (Phen) were determined. All sorption isotherms were nonlinear and fitted well with the Freundlich model. Among the SOM, HM and BC with more aromatic carbon controlled the sorption nonlinearity and capacity. Compared to HM, higher K oc values were observed for BC due to the combustion of organic matter and native sorbates in HM. For HAs isotherms, a positive relation was observed between the K oc values and aliphaticity or H/C ratios, but a negative relation was shown between the n values and polarity of HAs. HA, HM, and BC were responsible for 0.4–9.3%, 46–97%, and 65–96% of the total sorption, respectively, indicating the dominance of HM and BC fractions in overall sorption of Phen by the sediments.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Jinghuan Zhang, Mengchang He, Chunye Lin & Yehong Shi

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  1. Jinghuan Zhang
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  2. Mengchang He
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Correspondence to Mengchang He.

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Zhang, J., He, M., Lin, C. et al. Phenanthrene sorption to humic acids, humin, and black carbon in sediments from typical water systems in China. Environ Monit Assess 166, 445–459 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-1014-6

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