Effects of Temperature on Trichloroethylene Desorption from Silica Gel and Natural Sediments. 1. Isotherms

Aqueous phase isotherms were calculated from vapor phase desorption isotherms measured at 15, 30, and 60 °C for trichloroethylene on a silica gel, an aquifer sediment, a soil, a sand fraction, and a clay and silt fraction, all at 100% relative humidity. Isosteric heats of adsorption ( Q st ( q )) were calculated as a function of the sorbed concentration, q, and examined with respect to the following mecha nisms: adsorption on water wet mineral surfaces, sorption in amorphous organic matter (AOM), and adsorption in hydrophobic micropores. Silica gel, sand fraction, and clay and silt fraction 60 °C isotherms are characterized by a Freundlich region and a region at very low concentrations where isotherm points deviate from log-log linear behavior. The latter is designated the non-Freundlich region. For the silica gel, values of Q st ( q ) (9.5−45 kJ/mol) in both regions are consistent with adsorption in hydrophobic micropores. For the natural solids, values of Q st ( q ) in the Freundlich regions are less than or equal to zero and are consistent with sorption on water wet mineral surfaces and in AOM. In the non-Freundlich regions, diverging different temperature isotherms with decreasing q and a Q st ( q ) value of 34 kJ/mol for the clay and silt fraction suggest that adsorption is occurring in hydrophobic micropores. The General Adsorption Isotherm is used to capture this adsorption heterogeneity.