On the use of a freeze-dried versus an air-dried soil humic acid as a surrogate of soil organic matter for contaminant sorption

The sorption of phenanthrene (PHN) to relatively pure soil humic acids (HAs) was investigated to assess the suitability of the soil HA as a surrogate sorbent for the soil organic matter (SOM). The HAs were prepared in both freeze-dried and air-dried forms. The two forms of HAs from the same source are similar in composition but the freeze-dried HAs exhibit a significantly higher initial surface area (SA) (3.86–4.59 m2/g); the SAs of air-dried HAs are below 0.1 m2/g. However, the SAs of freeze-dried HAs are not stable upon contact with water; the samples lose practically all the SA after 4 days of immersion in water. The PHN sorption to both forms of HAs is practically linear, whether a co-solute is present or not. The sorption linearity observed with the present freeze-dried HAs is in sharp contrast with the allegedly nonlinear PHN sorption on similar freeze-dried HAs as presented by others.

► In contrast to the alleged nonlinear sorption of a nonpolar organic pollutant to a freeze-dried humic acid (HA) from water.
► This study shows no evidence for such nonlinearity.
► The initially prepared freeze-dried HA exhibits a significant surface area.
► This artificially created surface area is however unstable upon contact with water.