A critical evaluation of short columns for estimating the attachment efficiency of engineered nanomaterials in natural soils
Knapp Karin Norrfors, Vesna Micić, Olga Borovinskaya, Frank von der Kammer, Thilo Hofmann and Geert Cornelis
Environmental Science Nano
DOI: 10.1039/d0en01089h
Norrfors and co-workers present a critical evaluation of column experiments that investigate the behavior of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in natural soils. In such experiments, particle-containing solutions are poured onto columns of saturated soil, and the change in particle content is monitored. One important parameter that can be determined in such experiments is the attachment efficiency, which essentially describes the probability of a particle getting stuck along the pore walls of the soil. This parameter is crucial for risk assessment, as it determines bioavailability and transport in aquifers. Among other methods, sp-ICP-TOFMS with TOFWERK’s icpTOF 2R was used to analyze the ENMs-containing soil solutions produced in the experiments. Based on their findings, the authors present a list of recommendations for column experiments which are aimed at minimizing the influence of operational parameters.
