Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Short-term evolution of hydration effects on soil organic matter properties and resulting implications for sorption of naphthalene-2-ol

  • COEVOLUTION OF ORGANIC SUBSTANCES AND SOILS
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Sorption of xenobiotics in soils and especially to soil organic matter (SOM) determines their mobility and bioavailability in ecosystems. However, SOM as the major sorbent may be altered in its physicochemical properties upon changes in boundary conditions such as hydration. Hence, the goal of this study was to determine the influence of soil hydration on physicochemical properties of SOM and the resulting effects on sorption of xenobiotics.

Materials and methods

Samples of a Histosol with 51 % SOM were adjusted to five water contents from 10 to 75 % (w/w based on dry soil mass) and aged for water contact times of 0 weeks to 3 years. The hydrated samples were characterized with respect to thermal properties of SOM and of the incorporated water via differential scanning calorimetry and with respect to hydration-induced swelling via 1H-NMR relaxometry, and the sessile drop method was applied to determine their soil–water contact angle. Sorption kinetics and isotherms of naphthalene-2-ol in the pre-treated peat samples were determined in batch experiments.

Results and discussion

SOM matrix rigidity varied with the water content and increased with water contact time. An initial minimum in SOM rigidity at ~30 % water content became maximum after ~20 weeks, also resulting in the strongest resistance towards water infiltration. We argue that the anomalies at 30 % water content are related to the critical water content for the formation of freezable water w crit in the peat samples, which was 26.2 ± 0.3 %. Conditions for water-assisted molecular bridging were assumably optimal at 30 % water content. Whereas parameters of naphthalene-2-ol sorption reflecting the sorbed amount were mainly altered by the wetting properties of SOM, sorption linearity and hysteresis were influenced by the anomalies in peat matrix properties at a water content around 30 %.

Conclusions

The study revealed that the interplay of SOM and water led to highly variable and complex changes in SOM physicochemical properties. These properties may serve as a predictor for sorption of xenobiotics in soil at varying hydration conditions enabling a more precise assessment of the environmental fate of xenobiotics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aquino AJA, Tunega D, Schaumann GE (2009) Stabilizing capacity of water bridges in nanopore segments of humic substances: a theoretical investigation. J Phys Chem C 113:6468–16475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bachmann J, Woche SK, Goebel M-O (2003) Extended methodology for determining wetting properties of porous media. Water Resour Res 39:1353–1366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blume HP, Stahr K, Leinweber P (2011) Bodenkundliches Praktikum. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 3rd ed

  • Chefetz B, Xing B (2009) Relative role of aliphatic and aromatic moieties as sorption domains for organic compounds: a review. Environ Sci Technol 43:1680–1688

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Graber ER, Tsechansky L, Borisover M (2007) Hydration assisted sorption of a probe organic compound at different peat hydration levels: the link solvation model. Environ Sci Technol 41:547–554

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo X, Luo L, Ma Y, Zhang S (2010) Sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on particulate organic matters. J Hazard Mat 173:130–136

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hahn EL (1950) Spin echoes. Phys Rev 80:580–594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinedi ZR, Chang AC, Anderson MA, Borchardt DB (1997) Quantification of microporosity by nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation of water imbibed in porous media. Water Resour Res 33:2697–2704

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hurass J, Schaumann GE (2005) Is glassyness a common characteristic of soil organic matter? Environ Sci Technol 39:9534–9540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurass J, Schaumann GE (2007) Influence of the sample history and the moisture status on the thermal behavior of soil organic matter. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 71:691–702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaeger F, Shchegolikhina A, van As H, Schaumann GE (2010) Proton NMR relaxometry as a useful tool to evaluate swelling processes in peat soils. Open Magn Reson J 3:27–45

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jähnert S, Chávez V, Schaumann GE, Schreiber A, Schönhoff M, Findenegg GH (2008) Melting and freezing of water in cylindrical silica nanopores. Phys Chem Chem Phys 10:6039–6051

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang F, Kaupenjohann M (2003) Immobilisation of molybdate by iron oxides: effects of organic coatings. Geoderma 113:31–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu YF, Pignatello JJ (2004) History-dependent sorption in humic acids and a lignite in the context of a polymer model for natural organic matter. Environ Sci Technol 38:5853–5862

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McBrierty VJ, Wardell GE, Keely CM, O'Neill EP, Prasad M (1996) The characterization of water in peat. Soil Sci Soc Am J 60:991–1000

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McKenna GB (1989) Glass formation and glassy behaviour. In: Allen G, Bevington JC (eds) Comprehensive polymer science: the synthesis, characterization, reactions and applications of polymers, 2nd edn. Pergamon, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Piccolo A (2001) The supramolecular structure of humic substances. Soil Sci 166:810–832

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pignatello JJ (2000) The measurement and interpretation of sorption and desorption rates for organic compounds in soil media. Adv Agronomy 69:1–73

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pignatello JJ, Lu Y, LeBoeuf EJ, Huang W, Song J, Xing B (2006) Nonlinear and competitive sorption of apolar compounds in black carbon-free natural organic materials. J Environ Qual 35:1049–1059

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ping ZH, Nguyen QT, Chen SM, Zhou JQ, Ding YD (2001) States of water in different hydrophilic polymers—DSC and FTIR studies. Polymer 42:8461–8467

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaumann GE (2005) Matrix relaxation and change of water state during hydration of peat. Colloids Surf 265:163–170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaumann GE (2006a) Soil organic matter beyond molecular structure; part I: macromolecular and supramolecular characteristics. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 169:145–156

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaumann GE (2006b) Soil organic matter beyond molecular structure part II: amorphous nature and physical aging. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 169:157–167

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaumann GE, Bertmer M (2008) Do water molecules bridge soil organic matter molecule segments? Eur J Soil Sci 59:423–429

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaumann GE, LeBoeuf EJ (2005) Glass transitions in peat: their relevance and the impact of water. Environ Sci Technol 39:800–806

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaumann GE, Thiele-Bruhn S (2011) Molecular modelling of soil organic matter: squaring the circle? Geoderma 166:1–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaumann GE, Hobley E, Hurrass J, Rotard W (2005) H-NMR relaxometry to monitor wetting and swelling kinetics in high-organic matter soils. Plant Soil 275:1–20

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schulten HR, Schnitzer M (1993) A state of the art structural concept for humic substances. Naturwissenschaften 80:29–30

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarzenbach RP, Westall J (1981) Transport of nonpolar organic compounds from surface water to groundwater. Laboratory sorption studies. Environ Sci Technol 15:1360–1367

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Senesi N, Xing B, Huang PM (eds) (2009) Biophysico-chemical processes involving natural nonliving organic matter in environmental systems. Wiley-IUPAC Series in Biophysico-Chemical Processes in Environmental Systems, 876 pp

  • Smith JA, Chiou CT, Kammer JA, Kile DE (1990) Effect of soil moisture on the sorption of thrichloroethene vapor to vadose-zone. Environ Sci Technol 24:676–683

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sparks DL (1999) Soil physical chemistry, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Veevaete M (2008) Applications of earth's field NMR to porous systems and polymer gels. University of Bremen, Bremen

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber WJ, McGinley PM, Katz LE (1992) A distributed reactivity model for sorption by soils and sediments. 1. Conceptual basis and equilibrium assessments. Environ Sci Technol 26:1955–1962

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wershaw RL (1999) Molecular aggregation of humic substances. Soil Sci 164:803–813

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xing B, Pignatello JJ (1996) Time-dependent isotherm shape of organic compounds in soil organic matter: implications for sorption mechanism. Environ Toxicol Chem 15:1282–1288

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xing B, Pignatello JJ (1997) Dual-mode sorption of low-polarity compounds in glassy poly(vinyl chloride) and soil organic matter. Environ Sci Technol 31:792–799

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). We thank Fabian Jäger and Jette Schwarz for substantial support with 1H-NMR relaxometry and DSC measurements and fruitful discussions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Soil Science, FB VI Geography/Geosciences, Universität Trier, Behringstr. 21, 54286, Trier, Germany

    Tatjana Schneckenburger & Sören Thiele-Bruhn

  2. Institute for Environmental Sciences, Department of Environmental and Soil Chemistry, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Fortstrasse 7, 76829, Landau, Germany

    Gabriele E. Schaumann

  3. Institute of Soil Science, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, 30419, Hannover, Germany

    Susanne K. Woche

Authors
  1. Tatjana Schneckenburger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gabriele E. Schaumann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Susanne K. Woche
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sören Thiele-Bruhn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sören Thiele-Bruhn.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Friederike Lang

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(DOC 725 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schneckenburger, T., Schaumann, G.E., Woche, S.K. et al. Short-term evolution of hydration effects on soil organic matter properties and resulting implications for sorption of naphthalene-2-ol. J Soils Sediments 12, 1269–1279 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0503-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0503-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation