Non-equilibrium passive sampling of hydrophobic organic contaminants in sediment pore-water: PCB exchange kinetics

This study investigates the isotropic exchange kinetics of PCBs for polyethylene (PE) passive samplers in quiescent sediment and develops a novel non-equilibrium passive sampling method using PE with multiple thicknesses. The release and uptake kinetics of PCBs in quiescent sediment are reproduced by a 1-D diffusion model using sediment diffusion parameters fitted with the data from actual measurements. From the sediment diffusion parameters observed for uptake and release kinetics, it is seen that the uptake kinetics are distinctly slower than the release kinetics, most likely because of the sorption-desorption hysteresis of PCBs in the study sediment. Despite the presence of the anisotropic PCB exchange kinetics, a performance reference compound (PRC)-based method, which is grounded on the assumption of isotropic exchange kinetics, estimated the freely dissolved aqueous concentrations (Cfree) of PCBs in sediment pore-water with less than a factor of two error for the study sediment. The novel method developed in this study using PE with multiple thicknesses also gives reasonable estimates of Cfree, demonstrating its potential as another option for non-equilibrium passive sampling for hydrophobic organic contaminants in sediment pore-water.