ABSTRACT
In the first section of this chapter, experiments that illustrate basic and important characteristics of this time-dependent sorption as well as steady-state partitioning are presented and qualitatively analyzed. These experiments, as well as others, demonstrate that sorption times are long, that sorption processes depend on the HOC, and that these processes are significantly modified by colloids from the water, colloids from the sediments, organic content of the sediments, and particle and floc size and density distributions. The effects of these parameters on
the steady-state partitioning of an HOC between sedimentary particles and water are discussed subsequently. In this first set of experiments, linear isotherms (i.e., Kp values, which are constant and independent of dissolved HOC concentration at constant temperature) were obtained. However, nonlinear and interactive effects on isotherms are often observed and have been reported in the literature; experiments and analyses that delineate these processes are also presented.
