Adsorption of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) on alumina: Influence of solution pH and cations

The persistent nature of perfluorochemicals (PFCs) has attracted global concern in recent years. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are the most commonly found PFC compounds, and thus their fate and transport play key roles in PFC distribution in the natural environment. As most solid phases in natural water contain alumina, an investigation of PFOS and PFOA adsorption behavior on alumina should prove useful in evaluating the environmental impact of this type of persistent pollutant. Systematic experiments were carried out in this study to investigate the adsorption behavior of PFOS and PFOA onto alumina. The results of adsorption kinetics on alumina show that it takes 48 h to reach equilibrium. The adsorption isotherms reveal maximum adsorption capacities of 0.252 μg/m2 for PFOS and 0.157 μg/m2 for PFOA at pH = 4.3, with the difference primarily due to their different functional groups. An increase in pH leads to a decrease in PFOS and PFOA adsorption on alumina, which may be attributed to the reduction in electrostatic interaction. The adsorption of both PFOS and PFOA decreases with an increase in ionic strength for all four types of cations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+), due to the compression of the electrical double layer. Furthermore, the results also indicate that both Ca2+ and Mg2+ can form bridges with PFOA anions in solution, whereas only PFOS can be bridged by Ca2+ due to the higher covalent nature of magnesium.

► This is the first work reporting the adsorption behavior of PFOS and PFOA on alumina.
► Alumina has a higher degree of affinity toward PFOS due to its functional group.
► Electrostatic interaction plays a key role in the adsorption of both PFCs on alumina.
►  Mg2+ is proposed to have less bridging effect between PFOS than that between PFOA.