The influence of soil properties
on PFOS sorption are not fully
understood, particularly for variable charge soils. PFOS batch sorption
isotherms were conducted for 114 temperate and tropical soils from
Australia and Fiji, that were well-characterized for their soil properties,
including total organic carbon (TOC), anion exchange capacity, and
surface charge. In most soils, PFOS sorption isotherms were nonlinear.
PFOS sorption distribution coefficients (K
d) ranged from 5 to 229 mL/g (median: 28 mL/g), with 63% of the Fijian
soils and 35% of the Australian soils showing K
d values that exceeded the observed median K
d. Multiple linear regression showed that TOC, amorphous
aluminum and iron oxides contents, anion exchange capacity, pH, and
silt content, jointly explained about 53% of the variance in PFOS K
d in soils. Variable charge soils with net positive
surface charges, and moderate to elevated TOC content, generally displayed
enhanced PFOS sorption than in temperate or tropical soils with TOC
as the only sorbent phase, especially at acidic pH ranges. For the
first time, two artificial neural networks were developed to predict
the measured PFOS K
d (R
2 = 0.80) in the soils. Overall, both TOC and surface
charge characteristics of soils are important for describing PFOS
sorption.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.