Oxygenated Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (O-PACs) have been detected in soils and groundwater at sites polluted by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), raising concerns due to their higher toxicity and potential to form larger pollution plumes. This study investigated O-PAC behavior in soils and identified the underlying mechanisms and influencing parameters. Breakthrough curves were generated to characterize the sorption of a PAH (fluorene – FLU) and an O-PAC (9H-fluorenone – FLUone), using soil columns at the laboratory scale. Desorption curves were also measured. These curves were modeled using the HYDRUS-1D model. The effects of pollutant concentration and influent flow rate were studied. Results indicated that FLUone exhibited a lower affinity for the soil matrix compared to FLU. This suggested that upon release from pollution sources in soils, O-PACs could migrate more rapidly to groundwater than PAHs, potentially forming larger pollution plumes. Additionally, the results confirmed that FLUone sorption onto soil was primarily controlled by surface mechanisms, with intra-aggregate diffusion playing a minor role. This finding was supported by the dependency of FLUone sorption on inlet solution concentration and corroborated by the modeling, indicating a lower sensitivity of the number of instantaneous sorption sites to a flow rate change. Nevertheless, results showed that lower O-PAC concentrations were associated with a higher proportion of intra-particle diffusion processes. FLUone sorption was more reversible than FLU sorption, indicating that O-PACs could be preferentially released from polluted soils. All these results highlighted the need to consider O-PACs alongside PAHs in polluted site characterization and monitoring.
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