A comparative study of the adsorption of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates and their biodegradation intermediates on marine sediments and organisms

Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) and sulfophenylcarboxylate acid (SPC) adsorption on suspended material (sediment and phytoplankton) has been determined in laboratory experiments. The kinetic characterization of the adsorption process allows the time to the steady state to be established, which was 12 and 18 hours for LAS and SPC, respectively. Organic carbon normalized coefficients for sediment and lipid content normalized coefficients for microalgae are similar for each compound, showing a clear trend with its non-polar character. Therefore, the highest coefficients correspond to LAS (8 × 103). A clear tendency was observed for the species of alga: Nannochloropsis gaditana had higher partition coefficientes for both LAS and SPC than Dunaliella salina.