This chapter discusses contaminant uptake by a passive sampling device (PSD) that consists of a central sorption phase, surrounded by a membrane. A variety of models has been used over the past few years to better understand the kinetics of contaminant transfer to passive samplers. These models are essential for understanding how the amounts of absorbed contaminants relate to ambient concentrations, as well as for the design and evaluation of calibration experiments. Models differ in the number of phases and simplifying assumptions that are taken into consideration, such as the existence of (pseudo-) steady-state conditions, the presence or absence of linear concentration gradients within the membrane phase, the way in which transport within the WBL is modeled and whether or not the aqueous concentration is constant during the sampler exposure. The chapter introduces the basic concepts and models used in the literature on passive samplers for the special case of triolein-containing semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs). These can easily be extended to samplers with more or with less sorption phases. It also discusses the transport of chemicals through the various phases constituting PSDs. the implications of these models for designing and evaluating calibration studies have been discussed.
