Newly-identified anionic, zwitterionic, and cationic per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances plus the fluorotelomer sulfonic acids (FtSAs) present in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) formulations are not characterized with respect to their sorption (partitioning) behavior and subsurface transport. The sorption of anionic FtSAs, zwitterionic fluorotelomer sulfonamido betaines (FtSABs), and cationic fluorotelomer sulfonamido amines (FtSaAms) in the National Foam AFFF were characterized. Batch sorption experiments were conducted with initial concentrations ranging from 1,000 ng/L up to 138,000,000 ng/L (138 mg/L), which represents concentrations ranging from groundwater up to direct application of AFFF. Analysis of the aqueous fraction by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry after 24 h of shaking resulted in partial depletion of the FtSAs and FtSaBs and complete depletion of the FtSaAms. Freundlich constants (Kf) ranged from 13 to 170 (nmol kg-1)(nmol L-1)-n for the 8:2 FtSA and 6:2 and 8:2 FtSaBs, respectively. The influence of organic carbon, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and pH on the sorption of the FtSAs, FtSaBs, and FtSaAms to additional soils under a narrower concentration range (1,000-250,000 ng/L) will be discussed. Understanding the dependence of organic carbon, CEC, and pH on the sorption of anionic FtSAs, zwitterionic FtSaBs, and cationic FtSaAms will aid in the development of models to predict the behavior of these compounds in the subsurface.

Sorption of anionic, zwitterionic, and cationic polyfluorinated alkyl substances in AFFF to soil and sediment

251st National Meeting (2016)

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