Evolution of models for sorption of PAHs and PCBs on geosorbents

Knowledge about the location of contaminants present in sediment and how strongly they are bound to the sediment is indispensable for estimating the extent and the effectiveness of remediation processes and for determining the availability and the mobility of contaminants, and the toxicity of sediments. To understand the processes occurring in complicated matrixes (e.g., bottom sediments and soils), we construct theoretical mathematical models describing the possible fate of contaminants in the environment. We treat models of contaminant sorption as part of a mathematical description of the state of the environment and of processes taking place in the environment. We present an attempt to systematize available information on various ways of explaining sorption mechanisms in sediment. This information confirms the complexity of sorption processes of hydrophobic organic contaminants on the surface of natural sorbing agents. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.