Sorption of monoaromatic hydrocarbons to wood

The sorption of benzene, toluene and o-xylene to wood, a common subsurface fill material, was characterized. Sorptive equilibrium was attained within 24 h for water-saturated Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine chips of centimeter -sized dimensions, consistent with predictions of retarded diffusive transf er into the wood. Sorption to the chips exhibited linear sorption isotherms . When wood-water partition coefficients were normalized to the wood's lign in content, the resulting lignin-water partition coefficients, K-lignin agr eed to within a factor of 2 with literature values reported for chemically isolated lignins. Wood sorption was substantially overpredicted by an organ ic carbon-based model (i.e., K-OC). Wood-water partition coefficients for n onionic sorbates (10 < K-OW < 10(4)) can be predicted as the product of the wood's fractional lignin content, f(lignin) and a K-lignin estimated from the linear free energy relationship: log K-lignin = (0.74 +/- 0.09) log K-O W - (0.04 +/- 0.25).