Phenanthrene sorption to Chinese coal: Importance of coal's geochemical properties

► Phen was chosen as the probe compound for determining the sorption of PAHs to a series of different Chinese coal samples. ► The combined partition and adsorption model yielded a better fit than the Freundlich isotherm. ► Compared to total carbon, BC might play more important role in the sorption of Phen to coal samples. ► Relationships between aromatic and aliphatic carbon contents and sorption parameters indicated the significance of aromatic and aliphatic carbon in the coal sorption behavior.