Influence of heavy organic pollutants of anthropic origin on PAH retention by kaolinite

The adsorption of heavy fuel oil No. 2 (F2) on a reference kaolinite (Arvor kaolin, France), and the influence of this anthropic organic matter on the phenanthrene (PHEN) retention capacity of a kaolinite were investigated in the laboratory. The heaviest and most polar compounds of F2 are adsorbed on kaolinite preferentially to the other compounds and also partly irreversibly. The precoating of kaolinite by F2 significantly increases the sorption of PHEN in the range of concentrations studied (10–500 μg l−1). The partition coefficients normalized to organic carbon content (Koc) of kaolin precoated with fuel oil (5.2