Prediction of the soil sorption coefficient of organic pollutants by the characteristic root index model

Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship (QSPR) technique was used to develop a simple predictive model for the soil sorption coefficient (Koc) of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), chlorinated phenols (CPs) and chlorinated benzenes (CBs). Tests performed on 36 such compounds clearly demonstrate that this simple model accurately predicts the soil sorption coefficients of these chemicals. The correlation equation was then used to predict the unknown soil sorption data of chlorinated biphenyls, phenols and benzenes. The result of these tests also demonstrates that the CRI can be an alternative and a very accurate predictive tool for the soil sorption coefficients of structurally similar compounds.