1. Introduction 1. Introduction Transport and availability of organic pollutants in soils, sediments and aquifers are closely related to the interactions of these compounds with the natural organic polymers (so-called soil organic matter [SOM], e.g. humic substances) present in these media. Contaminants may be either immobilized and retarded (and sometimes conserved for decades [1]) or transpor...

An evaluation of flow-injection analysis with chemiluminescence detection (FIA-CL) to quantify Fe(2+) ((aq)) in freshwaters was performed. Iron-coordinating and/or iron-reducing compounds, dissolved organic matter (DOM), and samples from two natural water systems were used to amend standard solutions of Fe(2+) ((aq)). Slopes of the response curves from ferrous iron standards (1 - 100 nM) were c...

The Activities of the wide range of organisms in soil play an important role in natural ecosystems. Their processes contribute to the soil’s health, ability to retain nutrients and make them available for plant. Soil biological, physical and chemical processes are interrelated and all contribute to plant health & productivity. The chemical and physical environment in soil will influence the bio...

Organic matter present in natural water sources is a concern in drinking water treatment because of its role in reacting to form disinfection by-products, contributing to membrane filtration fouling, and binding and transporting contaminants (Leenheer & Croué 2003). When the effects of organic matter on treatment processes are considered, a major source of uncertainty is the variable compositio...

This paper describes four recent applications of analytical pyrolysis in environmental science and engineering. In all applications, samples were analyzed in order to provide information about the origin of organic matter or changes to an organic matrix. In the first application, pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and pyrolysis-GC/flame ionization detection (FID) were used t...