Contaminant vapor adsorption at the gas-water interface in soils

There is evidence to suggest that the gas-water interface serves as an impo rtant retention domain for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in vadose-zone soil. Moreover, vapor adsorption at the gas-water interface may represent the dominant retention mechanism under certain conditions. In general, vapo r-phase interfacial adsorption is most significant for low organic matter s oils at intermediate water contents. Among nonpolar compounds, those with l ow saturated vapor pressure have the greatest tendency for interfacial adso rption, as represented by higher interfacial sorption coefficients, K-IA. A lthough polar compounds may have greater tendency to adsorb at the interfac e than nonpolar compounds, the high aqueous solubility of polar compounds m ay limit the relative importance of interfacial sorption to total contamina nt retention. The magnitude of interfacial retention is controlled by the s pecific interfacial area, A(IA), as well as by K-IA. Validated methods for measuring A(IA) are currently lacking. However, three promising methods for measuring A(IA) in soils have been proposed. Preliminary results indicate that the three methods are complimentary in terms of the type of informatio n derived, as well as their applicability for different water content range s and varying scales (e.g., laboratory vs field).