From laboratory measurements to field predictions of Ionizable organic micropollutants: a critical review and a proposed prospective validation framework

Laboratory measurements can inform contaminant transport models, but their predictive value depends on the conditions and observations they represent. This problem is acute for ionizable organic micropollutants (OMPs), whose sorption and transformation respond to aqueous speciation, surface chemistry, and microbial activity. Field prediction in riverbank filtration, managed aquifer recharge, and soil–aquifer treatment therefore requires explicit mapping of these laboratory measurements to field observations. This critical narrative review assesses 53 core publications from 2012–2026 and separately identified supporting literature. A detailed evidence matrix contains 67 entries from 43 works, distinguishing mechanistic relevance, cross-scale agreement, calibrated reconstruction, independent prediction, and laboratory-to-field transfer. The reviewed evidence includes cross-scale agreement and mismatch, field-fitted relationships, and a qualitative external field test. The proposed framework integrates aqueous speciation and reactive surfaces with hydraulic contact, biological activity, and observation support. Proposed matched-baseline H1–H3 protocols are designed to test the predictive contribution of independently supplied information. A benzotriazole diagnostic illustrates why aqueous species fractions alone cannot supply field sorption coefficients. Unsuccessful independent tests remain informative, while acceptable predictions do not prove physical parameter identity. Within this bounded evidence set, the synthesis identifies current evidence gaps without implying literature-wide frequencies and provides a structured basis for designing stronger prospective laboratory-to-field tests.