Sorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on soil and soil components: Influencing factors and mechanisms

Abstract

The sorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) on soil and soil components makes an important contribution to the fate, migration and bioavailability of PPCPs. Previous reviews have mostly focused on the sorption of PPCPs on single soil components (e.g., minerals and soil organic matter). However, the sorption of PPCPs within the whole soil system has not been systematically analyzed. This paper reviews the recent progress on PPCP sorption on soil and soil components. We have evaluated the sorption of a wide range of PPCPs in research fields that are usually considered in isolation (e.g., humic acids (HAs), montmorillonite, kaolinite, and goethite), and established a bridge between PPCPs and sorbent. The sorption mechanisms of PPCPs, e.g., cation exchange, surface complexation, electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding, are discussed and critically evaluated. We also assessed the influence of environmental factors (pH, ionic strength, organic matter and temperature) on sorption. This review summarizes the knowledge of PPCPs sorption on soil gained in recent years, which can provide new strategies for solving the problem of antibiotic pollution.

Keywords: Antibiotic; Mineral; Soil components; Soil organic matter; Sorption.