Cosolvent effects of phenanthrene sorption-desorption on a freshwater sediment

This study evaluated the effects of the water-miscible cosolvent methanol on the sorption-desorption of phenanthrene by the natural organic matter (NOM) of a freshwater sediment. A biphasic pattern was observed in the relationship between the log of the carbon-normalized sorption distribution coefficient (Koc) and the volumetric fraction of water-miscible cosolvent (fc), in this case methanol, that was accounted for with phenanthrene solubility data. Results also indicated that methanol elicited additional effects on phenanthrene sorption beyond the solution phase effects. The level off, was observed to have a significant effect on sorption-desorption hysteresis, with hysteresis being greater for treatments where phenanthrene and sediment were equilibrated with methanol-phenanthrene solutions but desorbed with aqueous solutions. These results are discussed in light of the deformable pore network of the rubbery/glassy NOM polymer construct.