Partitioning of semi-volatile organic compounds to the air/water interface

Partition coefficients ( K ia, m 3m −2) for sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes at the air/water interface were estimated by extrapolating quartz/gas sorption data to relative humidity (RH) values of 100%. For each compound class, the log K ia values were found to be well correlated with log p L o where p L o (Torr) is the vapor pressure of the pure subcooled liquid. For the PAHs, correlation equation is log K ia = −1.20 log p L o − 5.82 ( R 2 = 0.98). For the n-alkanes, the correlation equation is log K ia = −0.93 log p L o − 4.42 ( R 2 = 0.95).