Sorption and bioavailability of carbon tetrachloride in a low organic content sandy soil

Two sets of parallel columns were packed with a low-organic-content aquifer soil contaminated with carbon tetrachloride (CT) and flushed with water un der bioactive and abiotic saturated conditions. Both affluent and soil conc entrations (by sacrificing columns) were monitored for CT. Desorption of CT from the aquifer material could be described by a two-site nonequilibrium model. The columns were found to operate far from desorption equilibrium co nditions. Inoculation with Pseudomonas sp. strain KC resulted in rapid tran sformation of CT in the liquid phase, but no evidence of solid-phase degrad ation was found. Mathematical modeling of desorption and biodegradation as sequential and independent processes appears to be justified for this soil/ contaminant combination.