Organic matter adsorption

Water and Waste Water Treatment. PAG products are used in water treatment for removal of suspended soHds (turbidity) and other contaminants such as natural organic matter from surface waters. Microorganisms and colloidal particles of silt and clay are stabilized by surface electrostatic charges preventing the particles from coalescing. Historically, alum (aluminum sulfate hydrate) was used to neutralize these charges by surface adsorption of Al cations formed upon hydrolysis of the alum. Since 1983 PAG has been sold as an alum replacement in the treatment of natural water for U.S. municipal and industrial use. 

Activated carbon filters remove a wide range of organic matter by adsorption onto the carbon bed. The bed may be derived from a number of different carbon sources, and the correct selection of bed type, capacity, and porosity is a specialized function. Activated carbon may be usefully employed in organic traps, complementing the resin bed, but its capacity and organic removal rate characteristics are flow-dependent. Excessive flows may compromise the rate of adsorption of organic matter. 

Interactions Between Organophosphorus Compounds and Soil Materials I. Adsorption of Ethyl-methylphosphonofluoridate by Clay and Organic Matter Preparations and by Soils," M. H. B. Hayes, P. R. Lundie and M. Stacey, Pestic. Sci., 3 (1972) 619-629. 

Methyl parathion is only slightly soluble in pH 7 water (55-60 ppm). This affects its mobility in water and its ability to be leached or solubilized into the water phase of a soil-water system. Factors most likely to affect the adsorption of methyl parathion in soil are organic matter content and cation exchange capacity. In soils of low organic matter (e.g., subsurface soils), calcium concentration, which affects the hardness of the water, may also be important (Reddy and Gambrell 1987). Several studies have shown... 

The thermodynamic properties of U-Th series nuclides in solution are important parameters to take into account when explaining the U-Th-Ra mobility in surface environments. They are, however, not the only ones controlling radionuclide fractionations in surface waters and weathering profiles. These fractionations and the resulting radioactive disequilibria are also influenced by the adsorption of radionuclides onto mineral surfaces and their reactions with organic matter, micro-organisms and colloids. 

Minimization of agricultural losses from soil toxins Toxins from soils appear to be responsible for inhibition of nitrogen fixation, metabolism and nodulation in legumes. Removal of toxins could be achieved by proper adsorption techniques and also by growing companion plants that contribute organic matter to microoranisms which help to destroy or degrade toxic chemicals. 

In the presence of NAPL, the concentration of contaminants in the soil moisture (Cw) can be calculated simply from the solubility of the compounds (equation 3 in Table 14.3). Adsorption of contaminants to the soil particles is a much more complex phenomenon, which depends both on contaminant properties and on soil characteristics. The simplest model for describing adsorption is based on the observation that organic compounds are preferentially bound to the organic matter of soil, and the following linear equation is proposed for calculating the adsorbed concentration (Cs) ... 

Adsorption-desorption Partly Mechanisms for adsorption on similar materials will be similar. Soil adsorption data generally do not reflect the saturated conditions of the deep-well environment. Organic-matter content is a major factor affecting adsorption in the near-surface its significance in the deep-well environment is less clear. Fate studies involving artificial recharge are probably useful, but differences between fresh waters and deep brines may reduce relevance. 

Lesser tendency to partition to organic matter in soil (soil adsorption coefficient). 

Exchangeable ions (EXC), sometimes including ions nonspecifically adsorbed and specifically absorbed on the surface of various soil components, such as carbonate, organic matter, Fe, Mn, Si, and Al oxides, and clay minerals. This part is controlled by adsorption-desorption processes. 

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