Sorption and desorption behaviors of diuron in soils amended with charcoal

Charcoal derived from the partial combustion of vegetation is ubiquitous in soils and sediments and can potentially sequester organic contaminants. To examine the role of charcoal in the sorption and desorption behaviors of diuron pesticide in soil, synthetic charcoals were produced through carbonization of red gum (Eucalyptus spp.) wood chips at 450 and 850 degrees C (referred to as charcoals BC450 and BC850, respectively, in this paper). Pore size distribution analyses revealed that BC850 contained mainly micropores (pores approximately 0.49 nm mean width), whereas BC450 was essentially not a microporous material. Short-term equilibration (< 24 h) tests were conducted to measure sorption and desorption of diuron in a soil amended with various amounts of charcoals of both types. The sorption coefficients, isotherm nonlinearity, and apparent sorption-desorption hysteresis markedly increased with increasing content of charcoal in the soil, more prominently in the case of BC850, presumably due to the presence of micropores and its relatively higher specific surface area. The degree of apparent sorption-desorption hystersis (hysteresis index) showed a good correlation with the micropore volume of the charcoal-amended soils. This study indicates that the presence of small amounts of charcoal produced at high temperatures (e.g., interior of wood logs during a fire) in soil can have a marked effect on the release behavior of organic compounds. Mechanisms of this apparent hysteretic behavior need to be further investigated.