0121956 Huang The objective of the proposed research is to study the role of black carbon and kerogen in soils on the sorption of organic pollutants. The goals of this research are to: (1) develop a comprehensive chemical procedure for the isolation and fractionation of black carbon and kerogen, (2) characterize the isolated materials, (3) measure hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) sorption and desorption for the isolated materials as well as the original soils, and (4) establish a predictive relationship among sorption, the contents and properties of black carbon and kerogen, and the properties of the tested HOCs. This research could provide improved understanding of both the chemistry of soil organic matter and the mechanisms for the binding, sequestration, and attenuation of HOCs in soils. This could have impact on our knowledge of contaminant fate and transport, and pollutant attenuation in the environment. ***
