We investigated the sorption and desorption of four representative
roadway runoff-derived organic contaminants [1,3-diphenylguanidine
(DPG), N,N-dicyclohexylmethylamine, 1-cyclohexyl-3-phenylurea,
and hexa(methoxymethyl)melamine] with five soils. Isotherm data from
batch studies were well fitted by the Freundlich model (R
2 = 0.855–0.999). For ionic contaminants, log K
oc values were affected by pH. These contaminants
also exhibited sorption–desorption hysteresis that increased
at higher concentrations. Additionally, to reflect common stormwater
treatment practices, a 40% compost/60% sand engineered geomedium was
evaluated as a representative model sorbent. For this geomedium, the
sorption of the primary roadway-derived contaminants listed above
was evaluated along with seven additional stormwater contaminants,
including neutral and cationic compounds. Sorption affinities varied
across different contaminants, with the positively charged DPG (log K
oc = 3.12–4.11) and N,N-dicyclohexylmethylamine (log K
oc = 2.65–4.51)
exhibiting the highest sorption potential compared to those of neutral
compounds in all soils except for 726 Toledo soil. Weak log D
ow and log K
oc correlations
indicated that specific interactions such as hydrogen bonding and
electrostatic attraction often affected sorption, although sorption
to the organic matter rich engineered geomedium was dominated by hydrophobic
interactions. As commonly observed, sorption affinities were influenced
by aspects of contaminant structural diversity and chemical properties
that induced differing interaction mechanisms.