Patent Document ID: 20020128782
Application ID: 09756550
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for measuring desorption rates of hydrophobic organic contaminate (HOC) in soil samples, said method comprising: a) extracting a soil sample with liquid water at at least two different temperatures, each greater than ambient temperature; b) determining hydrophobic organic contaminant desorption rate constants at at least two different temperatures, said temperatures being the temperatures at which said soil sample is extracted; c) determining the apparent activation energy of desorption of hydrophobic organic contaminant from the respective rate constants at said at least two different temperatures of step b); d) extrapolating said first order desorption rate constant to ambient temperature; and e) adjusting the time scale of a higher temperature desorption rate curve to ambient temperature time scale by the ratio of the rate constants at said higher temperature to ambient temperature to predict the ambient and temperature desorption profile.