ABSTRACT
Batch experiments involving soil-aqueous systems were conducted to determine sorption of Triton X-100 onto natural loess as a function of equilibrium time, Triton X-100 concentration, ionic strength, and pH value. The results showed that the equilibration time for sorption of Triton X-100 onto loess was about 30 min. The sorption kinetics of Triton X-100 fitted well to the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the corresponding parameters Q(e), k1, and r2 were 3.041 mg x g(-1), 0.102 min(-1), and 0.9934, respectively. Sorption isotherm was found to be distinctly nonlinear. The Sips model provided the best fitting to the experimental data among the four isothermal models tested. Q(max) and r2 of Sips model were 3.202 mg x g(-1) and 0.998 7, respectively. It was found that the ionic strength and the pH of the solution had a significant influence on the sorption of Triton X-100 onto loess. The amount of Triton X-100 sorbed onto the loess increased significantly with increasing concentration of NaCl. Sorption of Triton X-100 onto loess was influenced greatly by pH, the amount of Triton X-100 sorbed decreased as the pH increased.
