In this study, Nordic aquatic humic acid (HA) was used as a DOM. The effect of HA on the partition behaviour of PAHs in the sediment water system was examined by comparing the partition of three PAHs: Phenanthrene (Phe), Pyrene (Pyr), and Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in the water sediment system. An isotherm partition of PAHs between water and sediment was studied. | Journal of Science and Technology 54 (2A) (2016) 273-280 PARTITION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN WATER-SEDIMENT SYSTEM CONTAINING HUMIC ACID Van Dieu Anh1,*, Hayakawa Kazuichi 2, Tang Ning 2, Toriba Akira 2, Hayashi Yoshishige 2, Kawanishi Takuya 2 1 School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet Road, Hanoi, Viet Nam 2 Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa University, Japan, Kakuma, Kanazawa 920-1192 Japan * Email: Received: 1 April 2016; Accepted for publication: 15 June 2016 ABSTRACT Natural dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the water environment has the potential to enhance the solubility of PAHs into the water phase, resulting in strong influence on their environmental fate. In this study, Nordic aquatic humic acid (HA) was used as a DOM. The effect of HA on the partition behaviour of PAHs in the sediment water system was examined by comparing the partition of three PAHs: Phenanthrene (Phe), Pyrene (Pyr), and Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in the water sediment system. An isotherm partition of PAHs between water and sediment was studied. The presence of HA in the sediment water system shifted the sediment water partition of PAHs to the water phase. The more hydrophobic the PAH was, the stronger the effect of HA on Kd was. Observed KDOM fitted well the linear free energy relationship. A three-phase partitioning model was established and successfully described the partition behavior of PAHs in water-sediment system. Keywords: PAHs, DOM, three-phase partitioning model. 1. INTRODUCTION The partition of hydrophobic organic contaminants in the environment is of fundamental Van Dieu Anh et al. importance in predicting their fate and transport. Several studies showed that the affinity of a contaminant to sediment is well correlated both with hydrophobicity of the contaminant and with the organic content of the sediment. Another .
