Correlation of Benzene, 1,1,1-Trichloroethane, and Naphthalene Distribution Coefficients to the Characteristics of Aquifer Materials With Low Organic Carbon Content

Laboratory batch experiments on benzene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), and naphthalene (concentration: 100–1600 μg/l) sorption onto 20 aquifer materials of low organic carbon content (0.006–0.21 %) showed that the equilibrium distribution between solute and aquifer material could be expressed by the distribution coefficient, Kd, since the isotherms were linear: Kd(benzene): 0.05–0.65, Kd(TCA): 0.04–0.55, and Kd(naphthalene): 0.1–15.7 ml/g. Correlating observed Kd values to the organic carbon content of the aquifer materials explained only 52–65 % of the variance in Kd. Introducing the specific surface area of the aquifer materials as a second regression parameter did not significantly improve the correlation. Estimated Koc values were up to 3 times higher than those predicted from regression equations based on the octanol-water partition coefficient. The reason for this is not known, but may be attributed to unknown differences in organic matter composition or to the presence of other sorbing components in the aquifer materials. Fair correlations between Kd values for the studied compounds were observed for the individual aquifer materials.