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

Abstract

Abstract Two sets of parallel columns were packed with a low-organic-content aquifer soil contaminated with carbon tetrachloride (CT) and flushed with water under bioactive and abiotic saturated conditions. Both effluent and soil concentrations (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 conditions. Inoculation with Pseudomonas sp. strain KC resulted in rapid transformation of CT in the liquid phase, but no evidence of solid-phase degradation was found. Mathematical modeling of desorption and biodegradation as sequential and independent processes appears to be justified for this soil/contaminant combination.