Linear solvation energy relationships regarding sorption and retention properties of hydrophobic organic compounds in soil leaching column chromatography

The capacity factors of a series of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) were measured in soil leaching column chromatography (SLCC) on a soil column, and in reversed-phase liquid chromatography on a C-18 column with different volumetric fractions (phi) of methanol in methanol-water mixtures. A general equation of linear solvation energy relationships, log(XYZ) = XYZ(0) + mV(1)/100 + spi* + bbeta(m) + aalpha(m), was applied to analyze capacity factors (k'), soil organic partition coefficients (K-oc) and octanol-water partition coefficients (P). The analyses exhibited high accuracy. The chief solute factors that control log K-oc, log P, and log k' (on soil and on C-18) are the solute size (V-1/100) and hydrogen-bond basicity (beta(m)). Less important solute factors are the dipolarity/polarizability (pi*) and hydrogen-bond acidity (alpha(m)). Log k' on soil and log K-oc have similar signs in four fitting coefficients (m, s, b and a) and similar ratios (m:s:b:a), while log k' on C-18 and log P have similar signs in coefficients (m, s, b and a) and similar ratios (m:s:b:a). Consequently, log k' values on C-18 have good correlations with log P (r > 0.97), while log k' values on soil have good correlations with log K-oc (r > 0.98). Two K-oc estimation methods were developed, one through solute solvatochromic parameters, and the other through correlations with k' on soil. For HOCs, a linear relationship between logarithmic capacity factor and methanol composition in methanol-water mixtures could also be derived in SLCC. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.