Adsorption of PFOA at the air-water interface during transport in unsaturated porous media
Open accessAbstract
Miscible-displacement experiments are conducted with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to determine the contribution of adsorption at the air-water interface to retention during transport in water-unsaturated porous media. Column experiments were conducted with two sands of different diameter at different PFOA input concentrations, water saturations, and pore-water velocities to evaluate the impact of system variables on retardation. The breakthrough curves for unsaturated conditions exhibited greater retardation than those obtained for saturated conditions, demonstrating the significant impact of air-water interfacial adsorption on PFOA retention. Retardation was greater for lower water saturations and smaller grain diameter, consistent with the impact of system conditions on the magnitude of air-water interfacial area in porous media. Retardation was greater for lower input concentrations of PFOA for a given water saturation, consistent with the nonlinear nature of surfactant fluid-fluid interfacial adsorption. Retardation factors predicted using independently determined parameter values compared very well to the measured values. The results showed that adsorption at the air-water interface is a significant source of retention for PFOA, contributing approximately 50-75% of total retention, for the test systems. The significant magnitude of air-water interfacial adsorption measured in this work has ramifications for accurate determination of PFAS migration potential in vadose zones.
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The migration and leaching behavior of PFAS in the vadose zone is expected to depend on PFAS source properties, soil properties, meteorological conditions, and other factors.
“The migration and leaching behavior of PFAS in the vadose zone is expected to depend on a variety of factors including PFAS source properties (PFAS type, source input conditions, co-contaminants), soil properties, meteorological conditions, and other factors (Brusseau, 2018; Lyu et al., 2018; Brusseau et al., 2019a, 2019b; Guo et al., 2020).”
From PFAS concentrations in soils: Background levels versus contaminated sites (2020) · cites this paper as Lyu et al., 2018
The Implications section states that PFAS retardation depends on PFAS properties and concentration, geomedia properties, and water saturation, and connects retardation to migration from vadose-zone sources. It does not address meteorological conditions or co-contaminants as factors in migration and leaching, so it supports only part of the attributed list. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredOne factor that can lead to enhanced retention compared to groundwater systems is adsorption of PFAS at air-water interfaces under water-unsaturated conditions.
“One factor that can lead to enhanced retention compared to groundwater systems is adsorption of PFAS at air-water interfaces under water-unsaturated conditions (Brusseau, 2018, 2019, 2020; Lyu et al., 2018; Brusseau et al., 2019a; Guo et al., 2020).”
From PFAS concentrations in soils: Background levels versus contaminated sites (2020) · cites this paper as Lyu et al., 2018
Aqueous PFAAs in infiltrating water have been shown to adsorb on pore walls, infiltrate into the soil matrix, or accumulate at air-water interfaces.
“Aqueous PFAAs in infiltrating water have been shown to adsorb on pore walls, infiltrate into the soil matrix, or accumulate at air-water interfaces (Brusseau, 2019;Lyu et al., 2018;Meng et al., 2014).”
From Perfluoroalkyl acids on suspended particles: Significant transport pathways in surface runoff, surface waters, and subsurface soils (2021) · cites this paper as Lyu et al., 2018
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- Authors
- Lyu, Y., Brusseau, M. L., Chen, W., Yan, N., Fu, X., & Lin, X.
- Affiliations
- University of Arizona (US)
- Jilin University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Brusseau, Mark L.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2018-06-26
- Volume
- 52
- Issue
- 14
- Pages
- 7745-7753
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- PMC
- PMC6312111
- OpenAlex
- W2810993977
- Cited by
- 259
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 10.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P42 ES04940)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Groundwater flow and contamination studies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Soil and Unsaturated Flow
- Keywords
- perfluorooctanoic acid, air-water interface adsorption, unsaturated porous media, vadose zone, contaminant transport, retardation, breakthrough curves, water saturation, grain size, miscible displacement
- MeSH terms
- Adsorption, Caprylates, Fluorocarbons, Water, Porosity
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