Equilibrium isotherms for the simultaneous uptake of binary nonionic organic compounds from water on soil indicated no competitive effect between the two solutes.This observation supports the hypothesis that partition to the soil organic phase is the primary process for sorption of nonionic organic compounds from water on soil. The partition process between soil organic matter and water was analyzed by using the conventional solution concept for solutes in water and the Flory-Huggins treatment for solutes in the polymeric humic phase. Sorption determined for 12 aromatic compounds on a Woodburn soil shows that the extent of solute insolubility in water (S) is the primary factor affecting the soil organic matterwater partition coefficient (Kom) and that the effect of solute incompatibility with soil organic matter is significant but secondary. This explains the commonly observed correlations of log Kom vs. log S and log Kom vs. log Kow (octanol-water).

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Soil-water equilibrium data suggest that the transfer of nonionic chemicals from water to soil may be described in terms of a hypothesis of solute partitioning in the soil organic matter. This concept allows estimation of soil-water distribution coefficients either from solvent-water partition coefficients or aqueous solubilities.

Chars originating from the burning or pyrolysis of vegetation may significantly sorb neutral organic contaminants (NOCs). To evaluate the relationship between the char composition and NOC sorption, a series of char samples were generated by pyrolyzing a wheat residue (Triticum aestivum L.) for 6 h at temperatures between 300 degrees C and 700 degrees C and analyzed for their elemental compositions, surface areas, and surface functional groups. The samples were then studied for their abilities to sorb benzene and nitrobenzene from water. A commercial activated carbon was used as a reference carbonaceous sample. The char samples produced at high pyrolytic temperatures (500-700 degrees C) were well carbonized and exhibited a relatively high surface area (>300 m2/g), little organic matter (<3%), and low oxygen content (< or = 10%). By contrast, the chars formed at low temperatures (300-400 degrees C) were only partially carbonized, showing significantly different properties (<200 m2/g surface area, 40-50% organic carbon, and >20% oxygen). The char samples exhibited a significant range of surface acidity/basicity because of their different surface polar-group contents, as characterized by the Boehm titration data and the NMR and FTIR spectra. The NOC sorption by high-temperature chars occurred almost exclusively by surface adsorption on carbonized surfaces, whereas the sorption by low-temperature chars resulted from the surface adsorption and the concurrent smaller partition into the residual organic-matter phase. The chars appeared to have a higher surface affinity for a polar solute (nitrobenzene) than for a nonpolar solute (benzene), the difference being related to the surface acidity/basicity of the char samples.