[Sorption of 1-naphthol to plant cuticular waxes with different states]

Wax components are ubiquitous in natural environments (such as plant and soil) and play a significant role in sorption of organic contaminants. To elucidate their sorption characteristics, cuticular waxes were isolated from the fruits of apple by organic solvent extraction method, and then the isolated-wax was reconstructed on montmorillonite with different loadings. Sorption behaviors of one polar organic pollutant, 1-naphthol, to isolated-wax, reconstructed-wax, and cuticle-associated-wax samples were compared by batch sorption method. Sorption properties of wax-montmorillonite complexes dependent on different wax-loadings were also investigated. Isotherms of 1-naphthol to wax samples were nonlinear, and fitted well with Freundlich equation. Although sorption of wax in the plant cuticle was weakened by other components of cuticle, its contribution to whole sorption of the cuticle increased with solute aqueous equilibrium concentration. Sorption coefficients at three equilibrium concentrations (1, 10, 100 microg/mL) were calculated, depending on solute concentrations and wax-loadings. Sorption coefficients normalized organic carbon contents (Koc) decreased with the increase of solute aqueous concentration. At low solute aqueous concentration, Koc values increased with the wax-loading increasing, reached maximum, and then decreased. At high solute aqueous concentration, Koc values were almost independent on wax-loadings. These observations indicated that partition was the dominant mechanism at high solute concentration, while specific interactions were involved as additional mechanisms at low solute concentration. Koc values of wax components in different states were in the order of reconstructed-wax (321.2) > isolated-wax (190.4) > cuticular-attached-wax (128.4), suggested that the sorption capability of wax was promoted once they were input into soil environment and then coated on mineral surface.