Microcystins are frequently detected in cyanobacterial bloom-impacted sites; however, their mobility potential in soils is poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the sorption behaviors of microcystin-RR (MC-RR) in heterogeneous soils and evaluate critical affecting factors. MC-RR sorption followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Freundlich model. All isotherms (n = 0.83-1.03) had no or minor deviations from linearity. The linear distribution coefficients (Kd) varied from 2.64 to 15.2 across soils, depending mainly on OM and CEC. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that the Kd was predictable by the fitting formula of: Kd = 2.56 + 0.15OM + 0.28CEC (R2 = 0.45). The sorption was an endothermic physisorption process, involving electrostatic forces, cation exchange and bridging, H-bonding, ligand exchange, and van der Waals forces. The sorption of MC-RR (dominantly behaved as electroneutral zwitterions) at pH > 5 was insensitive to pH change, while more MC-RR (anionic species) was adsorbed at lower pH and in the presence of Ca2+. The study provides insights into the sorption of MC-RR across a range of soil properties and water chemistry for the first time, which is of importance for a better understanding of the mobility potential of microcystins in the terrestrial systems.
Keywords: Microcystins; Modelling; Solution chemistry; Sorption; Surface soils.
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