Sorption characteristics of phenanthrene and pyrene to surfactant-modified peat from aqueous solution: the contribution of partition and adsorption

In this paper, the sorption characteristics and mechanisms of phenanthrene and pyrene onto peat (PT) and surfactant-modified peat (MPT) were investigated. Sorption results fit closely to the Partition model and Freundlich model, the coefficient of determination (R²) were higher than 0.98 and 0.99, respectively. The contributions of partition and adsorption to the total sorption of phenanthrene and pyrene by PT and MPT were analyzed quantitatively. Results indicate that the sorption process is a combination of partition and adsorption, and partition plays a major role in the sorption process. The contribution of partition increased with the increasing of initial concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The sorption ability of phenanthrene and pyrene by PT and MPT followed the order of pyrene > phenanthrene. MPT has demonstrated potential as a promising new class of materials for environmental remediation of organic pollutants.