Effect of phosphate on phenanthrene sorption in soils

Phosphate is ubiquitous in the environment. However, its impact on sorption of hydrophobic organic compounds in soils has received little attention. Some effects of phosphate on phenanthrene sorption were investigated in this study using two Chinese soils with contrasting properties. The presence of phosphate significantly decreased the capacity and increased the nonlinearity of phenanthrene sorption in the soils, and this sorption-inhibiting effect was more significant at high phosphate concentration. The influence of phosphate on phenanthrene sorption in the soils was governed by the release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particularly higher-molecular-weight and highly aromatic DOC, which tended to be enhanced in the presence of phosphate (p<0.01) as evidenced by size exclusion chromatography and specific UV absorbance analysis. Atomic force microscopy and ζ potential analysis reveal that the ringed microaggregates of DOC were disrupted into larger condensed microaggregates and the solid interfaces tended to be more hydrophilic in the presence of phosphate which also inhibited the accumulation of phenanthrene in the soils. This study for the first time points to an important role of phosphate in the sorption of phenanthrene in soils and provides substantial evidence for the mechanisms involved using a combination of microscopic and chromatographic techniques.