Distribution and interactions of pentachlorophenol in soils: The roles of soil iron oxides and organic matter

•The contributions of iron oxides and organic matter in PCP sorption were studied.•Iron oxides played greater roles in PCP sorption than the organic matter.•Removal of iron oxides led to ≥ 85% reduction in PCP sorption.•Removal of organic matter led to ≈ 40% reduction in PCP sorption.•Organic matter play less role than iron oxides in anionic PCP sorption

Soil iron oxides (IOs) and organic matter (OM) play varying roles in pentachlorophenol (PCP) retention and mobility, but the extent and mechanism are still unknown. Therefore, in order to have a better understanding of the adsorption of PCP on soils, batch sorption studies were carried out on whole soils and soils selectively treated to remove IOs (IOR) and OM (OMR). The effects of pH, time, and temperature were investigated. Results showed that PCP sorption was temperature and pH dependent; sorption decreased as both temperature and pH increased. Sorption was partly surface adsorption and partly partitioning within voids of IOs components as revealed by the kinetics models. The surface adsorption was multi-layer in nature. Equilibria were faster in the IOR soils than the untreated and OMR soils. IOs played greater roles in PCP sorption than OM. Removal of soil components, especially the IOs, as experienced in soils plagued by soil erosion, may lead to increased risks of PCP pollution of environmental media especially the aquifer.

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