Initial tests were conducted to determine the time required to reach short-term sorption equilibria. Sorption kinetics of toluene on PVC exhibited a rapid initial rate of toluene uptake followed by a slower phase. Table 1 summarizes Kf and N with 95 percent confidence limits for single-solute toluene sorption on each material. As shown in Table 1, PVC exhibited the largest sorptive capacity for toluene. The Freundlich N values for the studied materials were generally close to 1, indicating that partitioning dominated toluene uptake.
Similar data are available for toluene sorption from acidogenic leachate.
A comparison of Freundlich Kf values for organic-free water with acidogenic leachate shows no statistical difference for HDPE, rabbit food, and newsprint between these sorbates. In contrast, the sorptive capacity of office paper for toluene from acidogenic leachate was approximately 40 percent of that from organic-free water. Longer-term isotherm tests with PVC are ongoing. Single-solute Freundlich isotherm parameters for toluene sorption on MSW components. The 95 percent confidence intervals for Kf and N are shown in parentheses.