The spatial distribution of organic compounds in the microscopic soil/pore-water system due to sorption has fundamental implications on assessing biodegradability. If only the fraction of the organic compounds in the microbe-accessible region (e.g., soil pore water) is directly subject to intracellular transformation, sorption into microbe-absent regions (e.g., intra-particle/intra-aggregate micro-pores/interstitial spaces) might become rate-limiting to biodegradation. In this paper, several data sets with direct measurements of soil pore water concentrations are used to elucidate the effect of sorption/desorption on biodegradation. A bioavailability factor defining the proportion of the degradable mass under the condition of sorption/desorption is explored for estimating the intrinsic biodegradability in soil pore water. Potential linear free energy relationships of compound biodegradability with molecular properties are also discussed.

Quantifying the effect of sorption and moisture content on biodegradability of organic compounds in soil

244th National Meeting (2012)

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