Plastic tarps are often used in soil fumigation to contain chemicals in the soil to increase efficacy and decrease emissions of fumigant vapors. This research has shown that plastic films have a significant capacity to sorb fumigant vapors and that the sorption is largely reversible. We tested three agricultural films (polyethylene and two highbarrier films) with four soil fumigants (methyl bro...

The biodegradation of 14C-labeled phenanthrene in the presence of particles of montmorillonite and fulvic and humic acid–montmorillonite complexes was studied in a batch system. A mathematical model that takes into account the contribution to mineralization by the slowly desorbing compound was used to calculate the initial mineralization rates. Sorption of phenanthrene to the particles was dete...

The bioavailability and ultimate fate of heavy metals in the environment are controlled by adsorption-desorption process. Batch equilibrium experiments were performed to assess the effects of pH and low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) on competitive adsorption and desorption of cadmium and lead in paddy soils from China. The results indicated that both soils exhibited greater sorption c...

Agricultural and soil management practices have been reported to affect alachlor sorption–desorption and degradation rates. Though alachlor has been banned in the E.U. since 2006, it is still used in U.S. corn and soybean production. The objectives of this study were to: (a) assess differences in alachlor sorption due to tillage treatments (chisel plow and ridge tillage) on soils from three mid...

Rice straw charcoal, soot and fly ash (collectively termed "black carbon" or BC), which were found to widely exist in the environment and exhibit strong sorption of many organic compounds, were prepared for this study, and recorded as RC, SC, and FC, respectively. The characterization, sorption isotherm, and the effect of pH (from 3.0 to 9.0) on sorption capacity of each BC were investigated. I...

The fate of Pb in the environment is highly dependent on sorption and desorption reactions on solid surfaces. In this study Pb sorption and desorption kinetics on γ-Al2O3 at pH 6.50, I ) 0.1 M, and [Pb]initial ) 2 mM were investigated using both macroscopic and spectroscopic measurements. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy revealed a Pb-Al bond distance of 3.40 Å, consistent wi...

We investigated the sorption kinetics of pentachlorophenol (PCP) on soil at a pH of 4.1 using batch techniques. A multiple spiking methodology was employed to circumvent the solubility limitation of PCP. The ratio of sorbed PCP to solution-phase PCP (S/C) after 2-4 days of equilibration was concentration dependent. It decreased from 90 to 60 L/kg with a 4-fold increase in the total PCP concentr...

Establishment of phosphate (P) retention and release capacity of soils is essential for effective nutrient management and environmental protection. In this experiment, we studied the influence of soil properties on P desorption and the relationship between phosphate sorption and desorption. Among the soil series, the Ghior soil had the highest percent clay (59.32%) and free iron oxide (15,241 m...

Bioavailability of pesticides sorbed to soils is an important determinant of their environmental fate and impact. Mineralization of sorbed atrazine was studied in soil and clay slurries, and a desorption-biodegradation-mineralization (DBM) model was developed to quantitatively evaluate the bioavailability of sorbed atrazine. Three atrazine-degrading bacteria that utilized atrazine as a sole N s...

The influence of two organic amendments on norflurazon sorption-desorption processes in four soils with very different physicochemical characteristics was studied in laboratory experiments to evaluate the potential leaching of this pesticide through organic fertilized soils. Sorption-desorption experiments were performed on original soils and on a mixture of these soils with urban waste compost...