The DOI matches its Crossref record; 19 of the 19 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Sorption of Perfluorinated Surfactants on Sediments
Abstract
The sorption of anionic perfluorochemical (PFC) surfactants of varying chain lengths to sediments was investigated using natural sediments of varying iron oxide and organic carbon content. Three classes of PFC surfactants were evaluated for sorptive potential: perfluorocarboxylates, perfluorosulfonates, and perfluorooctyl sulfonamide acetic acids. PFC surfactant sorption was influenced by both sediment-specific and solution-specific parameters. Sediment organic carbon, rather than sediment iron oxide content, was the dominant sediment-parameter affecting sorption, indicating the importance of hydrophobic interactions. However, sorption also increased with increasing solution [Ca2+] and decreasing pH, suggesting that electrostatic interactions play a role. Perfluorocarbon chain length was the dominant structural feature influencing sorption, with each CF2 moiety contributing 0.50-0.60 log units to the measured distribution coefficients. The sulfonate moiety contributed an additional 0.23 log units to the measured distribution coefficient, when compared to carboxylate analogs. In addition, the perfluorooctyl sulfonamide acetic acids demonstrated substantially stronger sorption than perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). These data should prove useful for modeling the environmental fate of this class of contaminants.
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In the citing paper
“Long-chain PFAS (e.g., PFOS and PFOA) were detected exclusively in fluvial sediments, consistent with their known affinity for particulate matter and sediment organic carbon.”
From Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Surface Water and Fluvial Sediments of a Rural Gulf Coast Watershed: A Year-long Spatiotemporal Assessment (2026) · cites this paper as [43]
In the citing paper
“In addition, adsorption by the solid phase is always a contributing factor to some degree, with its impact mediated by geochemical properties of the geomedia and physicochemical properties of the PFAS (e.g., Higgins and Luthy, 2006; Anderson et al., 2016; Brusseau, 2019).”
From PFAS concentrations in soils: Background levels versus contaminated sites (2020) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“While the OM content of soil is recognized as a significant parameter controlling the adsorption of LC-PFASs, it is not always the only indicator of PFAS sorption to soil/sediments.39,43,70”
From Occurrence, Concentration, and Distribution of 35 PFASs and Their Precursors Retained in 20 Stormwater Biofilters (2024) · cites this paper as [39]
In the citing paper
“PFAS molecules and precursors, however, are involved in both hydrophobic and electrostatic adsorption to soil/sediment/SS particles and air–water interfaces (AWI), a significant PFAS retention mechanism under unsaturated conditions.”
From Occurrence, Concentration, and Distribution of 35 PFASs and Their Precursors Retained in 20 Stormwater Biofilters (2024) · cites this paper as [39]
In the citing paper
“Other factors, such as low fine particle content and an increase of cation content (and ionic strength) in filter material, can diminish the adsorption capacity of a biofilter over time.39,70”
From Occurrence, Concentration, and Distribution of 35 PFASs and Their Precursors Retained in 20 Stormwater Biofilters (2024) · cites this paper as [39]
In the citing paper
“Log Kow (3− 7) of i-PFAS increase with the carbon chain length (Higgins and Luthy, 2006).”
From Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the marine environment: An overview and prospects (2025) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“At the root-solution interface, elevated ionic strength can compress the electrical double layer and partially neutralize the negative surface charge of root cell walls [80,81], reducing electrostatic repulsion between anionic PFAS headgroups and root surfaces.”
From Influence of root morphology and salinity on PFAS uptake by ten Australian wetland plant species (2026) · cites this paper as [81]
In the citing paper
“This has been demonstrated for PFAS, wherein research has shown that factors such as ionic strength, salt composition, pH, and presence of co-contaminants affect solid-phase adsorption (Higgins and Luthy, 2006, Chen et al., 2009, Pan et al., 2009, Guelfo and Higgins, 2013, Zhao et al., 2014).”
From Assessing the potential contributions of additional retention processes to PFAS retardation in the subsurface (2018) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“Critical factors investigated for PFAS include the magnitude and nature of organic carbon, magnitude and type of metal oxides, and clay mineralogy (Higgins and Luthy, 2006, Liu and Lee, 2007, Ferrey et al., 2012, Milinovic et al., 2015, Zhang et al., 2015).”
From Assessing the potential contributions of additional retention processes to PFAS retardation in the subsurface (2018) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“Higgins and Luthy (2006) found that soil OC content was the main parameter affecting the sorption behaviour of PFASs in sediments, suggesting that most sorption occurred via hydrophobic interactions”
From Modelling the sorption behaviour of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and perfluoroalkane sulfonates in soils (2021) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy (2006)
In the citing paper
“The sorption K d values for the mid-chained PFHxS, PFOA and PFOS in this study were comparable to previously reported values (Higgins and Luthy, 2006;Oliver et al., 2020) and were higher than the corresponding short-chain PFASs”
From Modelling the sorption behaviour of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and perfluoroalkane sulfonates in soils (2021) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“which may explain the positive effects of the presence of calcium on the K d of PFASs (Higgins and Luthy, 2006)”
From Modelling the sorption behaviour of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and perfluoroalkane sulfonates in soils (2021) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“This conclusion agrees with previous studies which observed no correlation between K d and Fe content in soils where OC was the primary driver of PFAS sorption (Higgins and Luthy, 2006;Miao et al., 2017).”
From Modelling the sorption behaviour of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and perfluoroalkane sulfonates in soils (2021) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“Similar to prior work, our results show site-averaged Kd increases significantly with the number of perfluorinated carbons for PFSA and precursors (Figure 4; ANOVA Type III; F-values > 5000; p-values < 0.001).19,43”
From Centurial Persistence of Forever Chemicals at Military Fire Training Sites (2023) · cites this paper as [43]
In the citing paper
“Prior research has indicated that soil organic carbon generally controls sorption of PFCAs and PFOS for soils and sediments with organic-carbon contents in this range and higher (e.g., Higgins and Luthy, 2006; Milinovic et al., 2015; Brusseau et al., 2019b).”
From PFAS concentrations in soil versus soil porewater: Mass distributions and the impact of adsorption at air-water interfaces (2022) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“The relative concentration of PFAAs in particles or sediment could depend on their surface chemistry or mineralogy such as the fraction of organic carbon (Higgins and Luthy, 2006;Li et al., 2018Li et al., , 2019)).”
From Perfluoroalkyl acids on suspended particles: Significant transport pathways in surface runoff, surface waters, and subsurface soils (2021) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“In suspended sediments, K oc values of PFSAs is 5.1-5.8 times greater than K oc of PFCAs for the same carbon chain length (Ahrens et al., 2010), whereas, in sediments, the K oc values of PFSAs are 1.7 times greater than the K oc values of PFCAs (Higgins and Luthy, 2006).”
From Perfluoroalkyl acids on suspended particles: Significant transport pathways in surface runoff, surface waters, and subsurface soils (2021) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“It has been demonstrated that both Kd and Kaw are functions of the molecular size of PFAS (e.g., Higgins and Luthy, 2006; Brusseau, 2019a, 2019b).”
From PFAS concentrations in soil versus soil porewater: Mass distributions and the impact of adsorption at air-water interfaces (2022) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“This result is consistent with the molecular structures (chain length and functional group) of the two (e.g., Higgins and Luthy, 2006).”
From Column versus batch methods for measuring PFOS and PFOA sorption to geomedia (2021) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy, 2006
In the citing paper
“Overall, the N values determined in this study for PFOS and PFOA are consistent with the literature values.”
From Column versus batch methods for measuring PFOS and PFOA sorption to geomedia (2021) · cites this paper as Higgins and Luthy (2006)
In the citing paper
“PFAS sorption, for example, can be greater under conditions of low pH,7,45 elevated concentrations of divalent cations,46,47 or lower concentrations of DOC and Cl.47−49”
From Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Groundwater Used as a Source of Drinking Water in the Eastern United States (2022) · cites this paper as [46]
In the citing paper
“they are persistent, bind weakly to organic phases [54] compared to other persistent organic substances, bioaccumulate in laboratory studies [55,56] and biomagnify in food webs [57,58].”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Higgins, C. P., & Luthy, R. G.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Luthy, Richard G.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2006-10-07
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 23
- Pages
- 7251-7256
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2011384751
- Cited by
- 1,563
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 184 · 2025: 144 · 2024: 118 · 2023: 117 · 2022: 128 · 2021: 120 · 2020: 90 · 2019: 87 · 2018: 72 · 2017: 60 · 2016: 60 · 2015: 48 · 2014: 58 · 2013: 58 · 2012: 51
- FWCI
- 21.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Environmental Chemistry and Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Keywords
- perfluorinated surfactants, sorption, sediment, perfluorocarboxylates, PFOS, distribution coefficient, organic carbon, iron oxide, chain length, hydrophobic interactions, electrostatic interactions, calcium, pH, environmental fate modeling
- MeSH terms
- Adsorption, Calcium, Carbon, Chromatography, Liquid, Ferric Compounds, Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Kinetics, Surface-Active Agents, Geologic Sediments, Tandem Mass Spectrometry
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