The effects of co-existing acridine on adsorption-desorption behavior of carbazole in soils: Co-sorption and mechanism insight

Carbazole (CBZ) and acridine (ACR) are polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles (PANHs) widely found in combined contaminated soils, while investigations on organic-organic interactions have been very limited. In this study, batch experiments were carried out on five soils with different properties, taking CBZ as a representative of PANHs and ACR as a co-existing contaminant. The adsorption isotherms of CBZ (50-1000 μg/L) were nonlinear. Soil organic matter (SOM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) showed positive correlations with CBZ adsorption-desorption coefficients. The adsorption mechanisms of CBZ involved hydrogen bonding, π-π interaction, and cation-π bonding. Different concentrations of ACR had varying effects on CBZ. The adsorption of CBZ was inhibited with 250 μg/L ACR. The cooperative adsorption was observed on three soils with increasing ACR concentration (1000 μg/L) and led to more pronounced nonlinear isotherms. The S-shaped isotherms of ACR indicated that ACR was adsorbed to the soil surface in a perpendicular configuration. New adsorption sites were created allowing for increased CBZ adsorption through π-π interaction with ACR. Therefore, variations in soil properties and potential impacts of co-existing contaminants should be well considered when assessing the combined pollution of site soil. This will contribute to a more accurate estimation of environmental and health risks.

Effects of charge-assisted hydrogen bond on sorption and co-sorption of pharmaceutical contaminants on carbonaceous materials: Spectroscopic and theoretical studies

Charge-assisted hydrogen bond (CAHB) is a key mechanism that affects the environmental behavior of pharmaceutical pollutants (PCs). However, the strength and stability of various CAHBs, and their effects on the co-sorption behavior of PCs are still unclear. Herein, DFT calculation with different solvent models including two implicit solvent model (PCM and SMD), and one explicit solvent model (ESM) were applied in this study, to investigate the effects of different CAHBs on the sorption and co-sorption behavior of four PCs (e.g., clofibric acid, p-aminobenzoic acid, acetaminophen, and sulfamerazine) on three model carbonaceous materials. First, the appearance of new peaks in the very low field of 1H NMR, and the blue shift of OH and NH2 peaks in FTIR indicated that CAHBs were indeed formed between PCs and carbonaceous materials. Next, according to the principal component analysis and correlation analysis of parameters (e.g., ΔEads, bond length, bond angle, Egap, and ΔG) of these CAHBs calculated by the DFT with different solvent models, the results showed that SMD is the optimal model for calculating the strength and stability of CAHBs by DFT, and the strength and stability of CAHBs formed between PCs and carbonaceous materials in this study were in the order of homonuclear [O⋯H⋯O]- CAHB > heteronuclear [O⋯HN]-/[N⋯HO]+ type of CAHB > homonuclear [N⋯H⋯N]+. Also, the co-sorption behavior of different PCs co-existing in binary systems further confirmed that, all above types of CAHBs formed between PCs and carbonaceous materials can produce obvious competition effect on the co-existing PCs that only OHB formed between them. This study not only reveals the environmental behavior of co-existing PCs, but also provides a theoretical basis for the design of obligate sorption materials for PCs in the natural environment.

Co-sorption/co-desorption mechanism of the mixed chlorobenzenes by fresh bulk and aged residual biochar

Since little is known about the sorption/desorption behaviors of the mixed chlorobenzenes (CBs) on fresh and aged biochar, this study evaluated the co-sorption/co-desorption mechanism of the mixed monochlorobenzene (MCB), 1,2-dichlorobenzene (1,2-DCB) and 1,2,4-tirchlorobenzene (1,2,4-TCB) on the fresh bulk biochar derived from pinewood sawdust and corn straw under the heat treatment temperature (HTT) of 300 and 500 °C, and elucidated the aging-induced changes in the sorption/desorption of mixed CBs by biochar. The distinct sorption capacities of MCB< 1,2-DCB< 1,2,4-TCB were observed on all the tested biochar with the differences being further enhanced following the rise of HTT, as the main sorption mechanism was converted from phase partitioning to π-π interaction between graphitized biochar moieties and more hydrophobic aromatic chemicals. In comparison to the fresh biochar, the sorption suppression of the mixed CBs on the aged biochar was likely attributable to the reduction in accessibility to the aromatic carbon in biochar by introducing O-containing polar moieties on the biochar surfaces. Intriguingly, the kinetics of desorption was decreased with the aging of biochar may be caused by the increase in surface steric hindrance. These findings can provide new insights on understanding the co-sorption/co-desorption mechanism of the mixed CBs and help assess and manage the application of biochar on the treatment of contaminated soil and groundwater under field conditions.

Mechanisms by which different polar fractions of dissolved organic matter affect sorption of the herbicide MCPA in ferralsol

Exogenous dissolved organic matter (DOM) modifies the sorption of 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA, a polar herbicide) in soil. However, how the chemodiversity and diverse fractions of DOM affect MCPA sorption is still unknown. Here, DOM was extracted from compost and rice straw; the structure-activity correlations between DOM chemodiversity and their effects on MCPA sorption were investigated by redundancy analysis. Moreover, the mechanism involved was explored by spectroscopic techniques, microbeam and modeling. DOM mainly affected MCPA sorption by altering soil surface properties and MCPA complexed form. Hydrophobic neutral (HON) and acid insoluble matter (AIM) were the fractions of DOM that most inhibited MCPA sorption through soil pore blockage, and were related to the humic-like substances with high aromaticity and large molecular weight. The hydrophobic acid fraction (HOA) only showed an intermediate inhibition on the sorption, although the largest competitive sorption occurred. This was because HOA contained abundant aromatic acid and polar groups with moderate polarity. Thus, the reduced effect caused by competitive sorption was partly compensated by the greatest co-sorption by HOA. The hydrophilic matter (HIM) had the weakest inhibition on MCPA sorption, because this fraction was rich in simple sugars, poly- and oligosaccharides, but lacked aryl groups. The results will aid in the risk assessments and prevention of MCPA in DOM-introduced soil.

A novel composite of layered double hydroxide/geopolymer for co-immobilization of Cs+ and SeO42- from aqueous solution

Geopolymers are always considered as promising materials for the treatment of radioactive wastes. In order to extend the application of geopolymer to the immobilization of anionic species, a novel composite of layered double hydroxide/geopolymer (LDH/GEO) was synthesized and applied for cosorption of Cs⁺ and SeO₄^2-. The ability of LDH/GEO to sorb Cs⁺ was maintained as that of pure GEO, even though the surface of geopolymer was homogeneously covered by the LDH platelets. The sorption of Cs⁺ onto LDH/GEO composite occurred via ion exchange, which was controlled by particle diffusion. It is different with Cs⁺ sorption onto pure GEO governed by film diffusion. Therefore, "Pocket diffusion" was proposed for the particle diffusion as the case of LDH/GEO because this kind of diffusion would be restricted in a certain distance around the ring entrance gate due to the amorphous essence of GEO. For SeO₄^2- sorption by LDH/GEO, ion-exchange with the interlayer NO₃^- and surface sorption could be the main mechanisms. Importantly, the sorption speed of SeO₄^2- achieved by LDH/GEO composite was much faster than that by pure LDH. In the binary system (Cs⁺+ SeO₄^2-), the sorption of Cs⁺ was slightly suppressed compared to the single system, which might be due to the formation of ion-pair complex of [CsSeO₄]^-. However, it did not have negative effect on the SeO₄^2- sorption. In the presence of other cations or anions, the cosorption performances of Cs⁺ and SeO₄^2- were satisfactorily obtained. Furthermore, the Cs⁺ and SeO₄^2- sorption densities were superior to the previously reported values. The combined MgAl-LDH/geopolymer composite could be a promising material for the immobilization of Cs⁺ and SeO₄^2-, and this work would provide guidance for the development of geopolymer-based materials for environmental applications.