Sorption of native polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) to black carbon and amended activated carbon in soil

Sorption of native polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) to black carbon (BC) and amended activated carbon (AC) in soil was assessed. PAHs were separated on a Agilent 6850 Gas Chromatograph equipped with a Agilent DB-XLB Column with a flow of 1 mL min super(-1) and the a temperature program. Total organic carbon (TOC) contents were 2.5% and 7.2% for the urban soil and for the creosote soil, respectively. BC contents were 0.51% and 0.10%, respectively. Total PAH concentrations in the urban and the creosote soil were 38 and 5500 mg kg super(-1) sub(dw), respectively. TOC-water distribution coefficients were reduced in the creosote soil compared to the urban soil. For the urban soil, the freely dissolved PAH concentrations were reduced by 99 percent. The results showed that for the creosote soil, the median reduction was 63 percent.