• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.34-43
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• 2010

The fate of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in ground water is highly affected by the distribution and property of the carbonaceous materials (CMs) in subsurface sediments. CMs in soils consist of organic matters (e.g., cellulose, fulvic acid, humic acid, humin, etc.) and black carbon such as char, soot, etc. The distribution and property of CMs are governed by source materials and geological evolution (e.g., diagenesis, catagenesis, etc.) of them. In this study, the distribution and property of CMs in subsurface sediments near the Imjin river in the Republic of Korea and HOC sorption property to the subsurface sediments were investigated. The organic carbon contents of sand and clay/silt layers were about 0.35% and 1.37%, respectively. The carbon contents of condensed form of CMs were about 0.13% and 0.45%, respectively. The existence of black carbon was observed using scanning electron microscopes with energy dispersive spectroscopy. The specific surface areas (SSA) of CMs in heavy fraction(HFrCM) measured with N2 were $35-46m^2/g$. However, SSAs of those HFrCM mineral fraction was only $1.6-4.3m^2/g$. The results of thermogravimetric analysis show that the mass loss of HFrCM was significant at $50-200^{\circ}C$ and $350-600^{\circ}C$ due to the degradation of soft form and condensed form of CMs, respectively. The trichloroethylene (TCE) sorption capacities of sand and clay/silt layers were similar to each other, and these values were also similar to oxidzed layer of glacially deposited subsurface sediments of the Chanute Air Force Base (AFB) in Rantoul, Illinois. However, these were 7-8 times lower than TCE sorption capacity of reduced layer of the Chanute AFB sediments. For accurate prediction of the fate of hydrophobic organic contaminants in subsurface sediments, continuous studies on the development of characterization methods for CMs are required.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2022

In-situ activated carbon (AC) amendment is a promising remediation technique for the treatment of sediment impacted by hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs). Since its first proposal in the early 2000s, the remediation technique has quickly gained acceptance as a feasible alternative among the scientific and engineering communities in the United States and northern Europe. This review paper aims to provide an overview on in-situ AC amendment for the treatment of HOC-impacted sediment with a major focus on its working principles. We began with an introduction on the practical and scientific background that led to the proposal of this remediation technique. Then, we described how the remediation technique works in a mechanistic sense, along with discussion on two modes of implementation, mechanical mixing and thin-layer capping, that are distinct from each other. We also discussed key considerations involved in establishing a remedial goal and performing post-implementation monitoring when this technique is field-applied. We concluded with future works necessary to adopt and further develop this innovative sediment remediation technique to ongoing and future sediment contamination concerns in Korea.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-35
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• 2007

In the last decades, the decrease in biological or chemical availability of sorbed contaminants as contact time passed, is generally accepted. This phenomenon so called as "aging" or "sequestration" is known to directly affect risk of the contaminats. This was observed for mainly for hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs), but also reported for heavy metals. Aging is known to be directly related to sorption-desorption hysteresis, irreversible sorption, desorption-resistance, nonequilibrium sorption, etc. The decrease in bioavailability due to aging or sequestration indicates realistic decrease in risk potential. Recently a risk-based management concept by scientific evidences but not the simple measurement of contaminant concentration has been attempted to determine environmentally acceptable remedial endpoint. This is because selection of remedial endpoint based on not total concentration but the bioavailability and toxicity of contaminants can reduce both the treatment cost and remedial activities of the contaminated sites. The bioavailability and toxicity of the residual contaminants are highly affected by the fate and transport and also directly affect the exposure pathways and bioaccumulation of contaminants in the living biota. In this paper, scientific feasibility on the risk-based clean-up and management of contaminated sites is reviewed.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.77-86
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• 1999

Partitioning of two hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs), phenanthrene and naphthalene, to kaolinite and sorbed surfactants was studied to evaluate the feasibility of surfactant-enhanced remediation (SER) of contaminated subsurface systems. Sorbed surfactant partition coefficients. $K_ss$, showed a strong dependence on the surfactant sorption isotherms at low sorbed surfactant levels $K_ss$ values were at their highest and then decreased with increasing surfactant sorption densities. $K_ss$ values for SDS were always larger than corresponding $K_mic$values. For Tween 80, however. $K_ss$ values $K_mic$ were higher than $K_mic$ values only at the lower sorbed surfactant densities. HOC distribution between immobile and mobile phases varied with surfactant dose distribution coefficients increased initially with increasing surfactant concentrations and then decreased at higher doses. This observation shows directly the competition between sorbed and micellar surfactants for HOC partitioning. Overall results of this study demonstrate that surfactant sorption to the solid phase can lead to increases in HOC retardation in some SER applications. Therefore, before an SER process is selected, appropriate consideration of surfactant sorption and HOC partitioning to immobile versus mobile phases pertinent to a specific subsurface system must be contemplated.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.61-69
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• 2005

Changes in pyrene binding by dissolved and kaolinite-associated humic substances (HS) due to HS adsorptive fractionation processes were examined using purified Aldrich humic acid (PAHA) at different pH (4, 7 and 9). Irrespective of solution pH, molecular weight (MW) fractionation occurred upon adsorption of PAHA onto kaolinite, resulting in the deviation of residual PAHA MW from the original MW prior to sorption. Variation in $K_{OC}$ by bulk PAHA was observed at different pH due to relative contributions of partitioning and size exclusion effects (i.e., specific interactions). For all pH conditions investigated, carbon-normalized pyrene binding coefficients for nonadsorbed, residual fractions $(K_{OC}(res))$ were different from the original dissolved PAHA $K_{OC}$ value $(K_{OC}(orig))$ prior to contact with the kaolinite suspensions. Positive correlations between pyrene $(K_{OC}(res))$ and weight-average molecular weight $(MW_W)$ for residual PAHA fractions were observed for pH 7 and 9. However, such a positive correlation was not found at pH 4 due to the absence of the dramatic fractionation observed for high pH conditions (i.e., exclusive fractionation with respect to higher MW), suggesting that actual MW distribution pattern is more important for sorption-fractionated HS than the composite MW value. For adsorbed PAHA, conformational changes of PAHA upon adsorption seem to be important for the extent of pyrene binding. At relatively high pH (7 and 9), lower extent of pyrene binding was observed for adsorbed PAHA versus nonadsorbed PAHA. The conformation effects were more pronounced at higher pH.