Dissolved organic matter enhances the sorption of atrazine by soil

Abstract

The influence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the sorption of atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopylamino-1,3,5-triazine) by ten soils was investigated. Batch sorption isotherm techniques were used to evaluate the important physiochemical properties of soil determining the sorption of atrazine in the presence of DOM. The sorption of atrazine as a representative of nonionic organic contaminants (NOCs) by soil with and without DOM could be well described by the Linear and Freundlich models. The n values of the Freundlich model were generally near to 1, indicating that linear partitioning was the major mechanism of atrazine sorption by soil samples. The apparent distribution coefficient, \(K^{*}_{d}\) value, for atrazine sorption in the presence of DOM initially increased and decreased thereafter as the DOM concentration increased in the equilibrium solution. DOM at relatively lower concentrations significantly enhanced the sorption of atrazine by soil, while it inhibited the atrazine sorption at higher concentrations. For all the soil samples, the maximum of \(K^{*}_{d}\) was 1.1~3.1 times higher than its corresponding Kd value for the control (without DOM). The maximum enhancement of the distribution coefficient (\(\Delta k^{*}_{d}\)) in the presence of DOM was negatively correlated with the content of soil organic carbon (SOC) and positively correlated with the clay content. The critical concentration of DOM, below which DOM would enhance atrazine sorption, was negatively correlated with SOC. The influence of DOM on atrazine sorption could be approximately considered as the net effect of the cumulative sorption and association of atrazine with DOM in solution. Results of this study provide an insight into the retention and mobility of a NOC in the soil environment.