Study on the sorption behaviour of estrone on marine sediments

- Sorption isotherms of estrone (E1) were well fitted by the Freundlich model.
- Sorption behaviour of E1 related with the sediment organic carbon contents.
- Clay minerals and surface areas of sediment largely affected the adsorption of E1.
- Sorption capacity of E1 was significantly influenced by coexistent surfactant.
- Sorption capacity of E1 decreased with the increasing pH and temperature of seawater.

The sorption behaviour of estrone (E1) on marine sediments treated by different methods was systematically investigated. About 22 h was required for sorption equilibrium of E1. Sorption isotherms of E1 were well fitted with Freundlich model. The sorption behaviour of E1 on HCl-treatment and H2O-treatment sediments related significantly with the sediment organic carbon contents. Additionally, clay minerals and surface areas of sediments played dominant roles in the sorption of E1 on H2O2-treatment sediments. Some external factors which could affect sorption behaviour of E1 were also investigated. Our results showed that the sorption capacity of E1 on the sediments increased with the increasing concentrations of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), nonionic surfactant polyoxyethylene (80) sorbitan esters (Tween 80) and salinity of seawater. In contrast, the sorption capacity of E1 decreased with the increasing concentration of anionic surfactant sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS), pH value and temperature of seawater.