Coexisting sediments and suspended particles change the sorption of lindane and ciprofloxacin in waters

The real behavior of water organic contaminants such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals is not well known because research experiments usually simplify the conditions by studying the sorption of a pure compound on a single solid. However, in natural waters, biofilms, suspended particles, and sediments are solid substances that coexist, and thus may change the contaminant fate. Therefore, we studied here the sorption of lindane and ciprofloxacin by three single-solid and three double-solid sorbents using batch experiments. We also compared the effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) between single- and double-solid sorption systems. Results show that the sorption quantity of lindane to the double-solid system of suspended particles and sediments is lower, of 0.99 L/g, than the sum of sorption quantity in the single-solid system, of 1.39 L/g. The sorption quantity of ciprofloxacin is higher, of 2.70 L/g, than the sum of sorption quantity in the single-solid system, of 1.90 L/g. These findings are explained by changes in DOM that suppress or promote sorption. To our best knowledge, this is the first study to present evidence that coexisting river solids modify lindane and ciprofloxacin sorption.