Sorption Behavior of Nonylphenol in Terrestrial Soils

Nonylphenol (NP) as an intermediate from anaerobic degradation of widely used nonionic surfactants occurs widespread in the environment. Partition behavior of this toxic and endocrine-disrupting chemical between soil and water was not examined until yet. The objective of this investigation was to quantify sorption and desorption behavior of 4-nonyl[14C]phenol in a set of 51 soils using the batch equilibrium approach. Kinetic studies indicated apparent equilibrium within 20 h. Sorption was influenced by sorbate structure as could be shown with branched 4-nonyl[14C]phenol and the linear 4-n-NP, respectively. Linear 4-n-NP behaves differently from the branched isomers of 4-NP. Sorption of 4-nonyl[14C]phenol tested with five different initial concentrations resulted in linearly fitted isotherms that provided calculation of sorption partition coefficients (KP). Desorption partition coefficients (KP-des) revealed hysteresis independent of soil properties but decreasing with decreasing initial NP concentrations. KP values were correlated with organic carbon content of the soils yielding a log KOC of 3.97.