Sorption of pentachlorophenol on surficial sediments: The roles of metal oxides and organic materials with co-existed copper present Original Research Article

The sorption characteristics of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the surficial sediments were investigated using a selective extraction procedure. The results show that the Γmax of PCP sorption decreased from 1.60 μmol g−1 to 0.69 μmol g−1 by approximately 60% after selective removal of organic materials from the sediments. The sorption of PCP in the sediments after selective removal of Mn oxides increased nearly up to 600% (from 1.60 μmol g−1 to 11.11 μmol g−1) and, to a less degree, the PCP sorption in the sediments after simultaneous removal of Fe/Mn oxides (Γmax = 3.53 μmol g−1). The analysis of the data using an additional model indicates that the contribution of Mn oxides to PCP sorption was negative, and Fe oxides and organic materials both have greater potential for sorption of PCP with less contribution from residues including Mn and Fe oxides in the residual fractions determined by a sequential extraction procedure and clay and silicate minerals. The differences in the decreased degrees of PCP sorption with increasing of Cu suggest that competition between Cu and PCP for sorption sites mainly takes place on Fe oxides.