Reduction of dissolved organic matter in terms of DOC, UV-254, SUVA and THMFP in industrial estate wastewater treated by stabilization ponds

The aim of this research was to monitor the influent and effluent water quality of the aeration, facultative and oxidation water treatment ponds of an industrial estate. This industrial estate, the largest in northern Thailand, has proposed to utilization of reclaimed treated wastewater in their raw water supply so as to cope with the yearly water shortage during the dry season. Water samples were collected four times from four sampling points and evaluated for their dissolved organic matter (DOM) content in terms of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultraviolet light absorbance at 254 nm (UV-254), specific ultraviolet absorption (SUVA), trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) and trihalomethane (THM) species. Average values of DOC, UV-254, SUVA and THMFP in the influent wastewater of 12.9 mg L⁻¹, 0.165 cm⁻¹, 1.29 L mg⁻¹m⁻¹ and 1.24 mg L⁻¹, respectively, were observed. The aeration ponds produced the best results: a 54% reduction of DOC, a 33% reduction of UV-254, and a 57% reduction of THMFP. However, SUVA in the aeration pond effluent showed a moderate increase. The facultative ponds and oxidation ponds did not take part in the reduction of DOC, UV-254, SUVA and THMFP. Average DOC, UV-254, SUVA and THMFP value of the treated wastewater were 5.8 mg L⁻¹, 0.107 cm⁻¹, 1.85 L mg⁻¹m⁻¹ and 468 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Chloroform, at 72.6% of total THMFP, was found to be the predominant THM species.     

Changes in the sorption and rate of 17β-estradiol biodegradation by dissolved organic matter collected from different water sources

The potential biodegradation and subsequent transformation of 17β-estradiol (E2) to estrone (E1) were examined in the presence of various dissolved organic matter (DOM) isolated from effluent, river and lake waters. In addition, estrogenicity was estimated in association with the removal of E2 via its sorption onto DOM and biodegradation. The more biodegradable lake-derived DOM promoted more extensive transformation of E2 into E1 than the effluent organic matter through a biodegradation process. Overall, under all conditions, biodegradation dominated the removal of E2 in water. The increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in river and lake-derived DOM (e.g. 6.5 mg C L(-1)) reduced the removal of E2 by decreasing its biodegradation due to the moderate sorption of E2 onto DOM. The effluent organic matter showed greater removal of E2 via biodegradation, as well as significantly high sorption. This was associated with a large amount of hydrophobic fulvic acid (FA)- and humic acid (HA)-like organic components, as shown by the small increase in the specific UV absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA(254)). An increase in the DOC concentration reduced the removal of E2, resulting in high estrogenicity. The present study suggests that both organic composition and DOC concentration influenced the removal of E2 and, therefore, should be fully considered when assessing estrogenicity and its impacts on the aquatic environment.     

Size and resin fractionations of dissolved organic matter and trihalomethane precursors from four typical source waters in China

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) and its potential to form disinfection by-products (DBPs) during drinking water treatment raise challenges to water quality control. Understanding both chemical and physical characteristics of DOM in source waters is key to better water treatment. In this study, the DOM from four typical source waters in China was fractionated by XAD resin adsorption (RA) and ultrafiltration (UF) techniques. The trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) of all fractions in the DOM were investigated to reveal the major THM precursors. The fraction distributions of DOM could be related to their geographical origins in a certain extent. The dominant chemical fraction as THM precursors in the DOM from south waters (East-Lake reservoir in Shenzhen and Peal rivers in Guangzhou) was hydrophobic acid (HoA). The size fraction with molecular weight (MW) <1 kDa in both south waters had the highest THMFP. The results of cluster analysis showed that the parameters of fractions including DOC percentage (DOC%), UV₂₅₄%, SUVA₂₅₄ (specific UV₂₅₄ absorbance) and THMFP were better for representing the differences of DOM from the studied waters than specific THMFP (STHMFP). The weak correlation between SUVA₂₅₄ and STHMFP for either size or XAD fractions suggests that whether SUVA₂₅₄ can be used as an indicator for the reactivity of THM formation is highly dependent on the nature of organic matter.     

Multistep, microvolume resin fractionation combined with 3D fluorescence spectroscopy for improved DOM characterization and water quality monitoring

Conventionally, resin fractionation (RF) method has been widely used to characterize dissolved organic matter (DOM) found in different source waters based on general and broad DOM fractions grouping. In this study, a new refined method using multistep, microvolume resin fractionation combined with excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (MSM-RF-EEMS) was developed for further isolation and characterization of subfractions within the primary DOM fractions separated from using the conventional RF method. Subsequently, its feasibility in indicating the occurrence of urban pollution in source waters was also assessed. Results from using the new MSM-RF-EEMS method strongly illustrated that several organic subfractions still exist within the regarded primary pure hydrophobic acid (HoA) fraction including the humic- and fulvic-like organic matters, tryptophan- and tyrosine-like proteins. It was found that by using the MSM-RF-EEMS method, the organic subfractions present within the primary DOM fraction could be easily identified and characterized. Further validation on the HoA fraction using the MSM-RF-EEMS method revealed that the constant association of EEM peak T1 (tryptophan) fraction could specifically be used to indicate the occurrence of urban pollution in source water. The correlation analysis on the presence of EEM peak T2 (tyrosine) fraction could be used as a supplementary proof to further verify the presence of urban pollution in source waters. These findings on using the presence of EEM peaks T1 and T2 within the primary HoA fraction would be significant and useful for developing a sensory device for online water quality monitoring.     

Spectroscopic Distribution of Dissolved Organic Matter in a Dam Reservoir Impacted by Turbid Storm Runoff

Spectroscopic characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in a large dam reservoir were determined using ultraviolet absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy to investigate spatial distribution of DOM composition after turbid storm runoff. Water samples were collected along a longitudinal axis of the reservoir at three to four depths after a severe storm runoff. Vertical profiles of turbidity data showed that a turbid water layer was located at a middle depth of the entire reservoir. The spectroscopic characteristics of DOM samples in the turbid water layer were similar to those of terrestrial DOM, as demonstrated by the higher specific UV absorbance (SUVA) and the lower fluorescence emission intensity ratio (F ₄₅₀/F ₅₀₀) compared to other surrounding DOM samples in the reservoir. Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that higher content of humic-like DOM composition was contained in the turbid water. Fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (EEM) showed that lower content of protein-like aromatic amino acids was present in the turbid water DOM. The highest protein-like fluorescence was typically observed at a bottom layer of each sampling location. The bottom water DOM exhibited extremely high protein-like florescence near the dam site. The particular observation was attributed to the low water temperature and the isolation of the local bottom water due to the upper location of the withdrawal outlet near the dam. Our results suggest that the distribution of DOM composition in a dam reservoir is strongly influenced by the outflow operation, such as selective withdrawal, as well as terrestrial-origin DOM inputs from storm runoff.     

Preferential adsorption of fluorescing fulvic and humic acid components on activated carbon using flow field-flow fractionation analysis

Activated carbon treatment of drinking water is used to remove natural organic matter (NOM) precursors that lead to the formation of disinfection byproducts. The innate hydrophobic nature and macromolecular size of NOM render it amenable to sorption by activated carbon. Batch equilibrium and minicolumn breakthrough adsorption studies were performed using granular activated carbon to treat NOM-contaminated water. Ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectroscopy and flow field-flow fractionation analysis using tandem diode-array and fluorescence detectors were used to monitor the activated carbon sorption of NOM. Using these techniques, it was possible to study activated carbon adsorption properties of UV absorbing, fluorescing and nonfluorescing, polyelectrolytic macromolecules fractionated from the total macromolecular and nonmacromolecular composition of NOM. Adsorption isotherms were constructed at pH 6 and pH 9. Data were described by the traditional and modified Freundlich models. Activated carbon capacity and adsorbability were compared among fractionated molecular subsets of fulvic and humic acids. Preferential adsorption (or adsorptive fractionation) of polyelectrolytic, fluorescing fulvic and humic macromolecules on activated carbon was observed. The significance of observing preferential adsorption on activated carbon of fluorescing macromolecular components relative to nonfluorescing components is that this phenomenon changes the composition of dissolved organic matter remaining in equilibrium in the aqueous phase relative to the composition that existed in the aqueous phase prior to adsorption. Likewise, it changes the composition of dissolved organic matter remaining in equilibrium in the aqueous phase relative to the adsorbed phase. This research increases our understanding of NOM interactions with activated carbon which may lead to improved methods of potable water production.     

Multivariate analysis for spatial distribution of dissolved organic matters in a large river-type dam reservoir

In contrast to extensive studies of dissolved organic matters (DOM) in natural lakes, the distributions and the characteristics of DOM in artificial dam reservoirs have not been well documented despite a growing demand for the construction worldwide. For this study, spatial variations in the concentrations and the characteristics of DOM in Lake Paldang, a large river-type dam reservoir, were investigated using the concentrations, the specific UV absorbance (SUVA), the synchronous fluorescence spectra and the molecular weight (MW(w)) values. In addition, environmental factors determining the DOM spatial distribution were examined based on a principal component analysis (PCA). Variations in the DOM characteristics were greater than those for the concentrations (1.1-2.4 mg C/L). In contrast to typical lakes, vertical variations with a depth were much smaller than those observed among horizontal sampling sites within the reservoir. Irrespective of the depth, four individual sampling locations were easily distinguished by comparison of some selected DOM characteristics. The protein-like fluorescence (PLF), MW(w) and SUVA values observed at the location near the dam exceeded the corresponding values for the sampling locations near major influent rivers, suggesting that, even for the river-type dam reservoir, the downstream DOM characteristics may be governed by in-lake DOM production processes such as the release from sediments and algal activities. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that approximately 61% of the variance in DOM distribution might be explained by allochthonous/autochthonous carbon sources and predominant presence of either total nitrogen or total phosphorous over the other.     

Sorbed metals fractionation and risk assessment of release in river sediment and particulate matter

Fractionation of metals in natural sediment and suspended particulate matter (SPM) of Tadjan River is investigated. Competitive sorption, sorption capacities of sediment and SPM as well as fractionation of metal-loaded sediment and SPM are also examined. A risk assessment code (RAC) is applied to estimate the risk of heavy metals release into the environment during the sorption process. Results revealed that sediments and SPM containing more than 25 % of clay minerals and higher amounts of calcite have great capacity of metal sorption, particularly for Cu, Ni, and Mn. Assessing the risk of metals release prior to and following sorption tests indicates that RAC of metals would significantly increase from the level of no or low risk in natural sediment and SPM to high or very high risk after sorption. The Langmuir model reveals that the highest affinity for Cu, Mn, and Ni in sediment is the organic fraction. The classic isotherm models of Freundlich and Langmuir can fit the data from chemical extraction studies of adsorbed metals, indicating that although sorption was apparently a physical and chemical process in the river, isotherm models can be used to simulate the sorption and accumulation in different geochemical phases within the particulate matter.     

Comparison study of five analytical methods for the fractionation and subsequent determination of aluminium in natural water samples

Five methods for aluminium fractionation used in different laboratories in Norway and Finland were compared using six control, 75 soil water and 10 lake water samples. Different fractionation principles [cation exchange, formation of the Pyrocatechol Violet (PCV) or quinolin-8-ol (oxine) complex], types of cation exchanger [Amberlite (Na/H) or Bond Elut (H)], reaction time (from 2.3 s), flow systems (flow injection analysis or segmented flow) and determination principles (molecular absorption spectrometry or ICP-AES) were tested. Determination of the 'labile' fraction was strongly dependent on the method used and the largest differences were observed between the ICP-AES method with cation exchange (Bond Elut H form) and the 'quickly reacting' method (oxine, 2.3 s). Different flow systems, both using cation exchange and determination of the PCV complex but with different reaction times and an extra acidification step, resulted in large differences in the 'reactive' and 'non-labile' fractions determined. However, the determination of the labile fraction gave similar results with both these methods. The two different types of cation exchanger used (with and without pH buffering and with different counter ions) in the ICP-AES methods resulted in differences, mainly because of a smaller 'non-labile' fraction in the non-buffered system. The two flow injection systems (oxine and PCV complexation) showed common trends, which may be connected with the short reaction times used. Comparison with theoretical equilibrium calculations using the model ALCHEMI suggested that the best correlation for the determination of the 'labile' fraction were obtained with the ICP-AES method with an Amberlite column.     

七虎林河流域上游溶解性有机质光谱特性分析

七虎林河源头区地表腐殖质随着径流的冲刷进入水体,形成了天然有机质(NOM),其中,溶解性有机质(DOM)易对河流水质造成影响。为了研究七虎林河中DOM的时空分布特征及其对水质的影响,开展了6次采样,分析了水体及土壤吸收光谱和荧光光谱特征参数,利用平行因子(PARAFAC)算法解析了水体DOM的特性及来源。结果表明：七虎林河上游水体五日生化需氧量(BOD₅)、高锰酸盐指数(COD_Mn)、化学需氧量(COD)、可溶性有机碳(DOC)的浓度分别为1.4 mg/L±0.2 mg/L、6.1 mg/L±3.0 mg/L、21 mg/L±8 mg/L、7.0 mg/L±3.2 mg/L,BOD₅/COD平均值为0.08,说明流域内水体DOM的可生化性差,对水质影响较小。光谱特征参数紫外吸收系数(SUVA₂₅₄)、荧光指数(FI)、腐殖化指数(HIX)、生物源指数(BIX)分析结果表明,七虎林河上游云山水库库上林区河段DOM的物质组成与水库及库下河段差异显著。库上河段DOM的芳香碳含量更高、分子量更大、自生源组分...     

城市雨水管网沉积物不同分子量溶解性有机质空间分布及光谱特征

采用超滤法、紫外-可见吸收光谱和三维荧光光谱分析法研究了北京市西城区4个典型功能区(居民区、文教区、交通区、商业区)雨水管网表层沉积物中不同分子量溶解性有机质(DOM)的分布特征和光谱特性。结果表明:雨水管网沉积物DOM以小分子量组分为主,约占整体水平的60%~70%。通过分析还发现,沉积物中小分子量(小于3k Da)DOM主要是类蛋白物质,而腐殖类物质主要集中在DOM的大分子量(大于10k Da)区域,微生物活动对小分子量DOM贡献作用显著,由此可见,DOM的分子组成和结构特性在一定程度上可以作为雨水管网沉积物DOM主成分和来源的衡量指标。4个功能区DOM腐殖化水平较低,表现出随分子量增大DOM腐殖化程度升高的规律。     

Profiling and monitoring of DOM in brewery wastewater and treated wastewater

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in raw and treated wastewater from two breweries in Thailand was profiled and monitored for the purpose of water reclamation. The wastewater and the effluent from the use of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) and activated sludge (AS) were collected and analyzed through a resin fractionation method using the fluorescent excitation?Cemission matrix (FEEM) technique. The results revealed that the major organic fractions in the brewery wastewater were hydrophobic acid (HPOA) and hydrophilic base (HPIB), accounting for 65% of total dissolved organic carbon (DOC) mass for brewery A and 56% of total DOC mass for brewery B. The FEEM results indicated that the organic matter in the wastewaters of both breweries were mainly composed of tryptophan-like substances, represented by peaks C (230 nm_Ex/340?C365 nm_Em) and D (265?C295 nm_Ex/315?C390 nm_Em), and humic-like substances, represented by peaks E (290 nm_Ex/400 nm_Em), F (330?C335 nm_Ex/395?C410 nm_Em), and G (255?C265 nm_Ex/435?C455 nm_Em). The analysis revealed that the reduction of DOM occurred mostly during the UASB treatment where most of the DOM reduction resulted from the removal of the HPOA and HPIB fractions. The HPOA fraction, a group of humic-like substances, is of particular concern when reclaiming treated brewery wastewater, and although it was reduced by more than 80% of its initial amount, it was still a dominant DOM fraction in the effluents.     

The development of a chemical 'fingerprint' to characterise dissolved organic matter in natural waters

A suite of twelve assays has been used to 'fingerprint' dissolved organic matter (DOM). The assays were applied directly to filtered natural water samples. Temperature, pH and conductivity accounted for the environmental conditions on-site. Bulk carbon characteristics were assayed by measuring UV absorbance at 200 and 240 nm, colour in grade Hazen, DOC (dissolved organic carbon), fluorescence (excitation 370 nm, emission 450 nm) and the complexation of phenol itself. Measuring hydroxybenzenes ('monophenolics'), polyhydroxybenzenes ('polyphenolics') and total phenolics with the Gibbs, Prussian Blue and Folin-Ciocalteau assays, respectively, determined the phenolics pool. The methodology was tested on six freshwater sites in North Wales chosen to provide differences in vegetation, land-use and water chemistry and sampled once during each season. A novel approach for the presentation of the data has been developed that combines all range normalised assay results for each site and each season within one polar plot, hence the term 'fingerprint'. The data was also analysed using principal component factor analysis. Assays characterised as determining the chemical properties of DOM contributed to Factor 1 and explained 59% of the variation in the data. Assays apparently determined by the water matrix, contributed to Factor 2 and explained 20% of the variation within the data. The factor scores obtained for each site showed more variation for assays relating to the chemical properties of DOM than to the surrounding water matrix. The methodology was found to detect chemical changes within DOM for each site throughout the year and different responses for different sites.     

Investigation into organic phosphorus species in sediments of Baiyangdian Lake in China measured by fractionation and 31P NMR

Organic phosphorus (OP) species in sediments of the Baiyangdian Lake in China was investigated via fractionation and phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance ((31)P NMR) spectroscopy. Results of chemical fractionation showed that different OP fractions ranked in the order: humic acid-P?>?HCl-OP?>?fulvic acid-P?≈?NaHCO(3)-OP?>?residual OP. Labile OP and moderately labile OP, which can be degraded for phytoplankton uptake, contributed to 58.7-68.5% of total extracted OP, indicative of the potential P release from sediments in the lake. (31)P NMR spectroscopy results suggested the rank order of P species present in the NaOH-EDTA extractant of the sediments: orthophosphate?>?monoester-P?>?DNA-P?>?pyrophosphate-P. Phytate, polyphosphates, and phosphonates, which appeared in sediments of some deeper lakes, were not detected in the shallow lake. Significant correlations were identified between total P (TP) in water column and sediment TP, monoester-P and DNA-P, positively indicating that sediment P species, especially OP components, should probably contribute to the contents of P in water column and further to the lake eutrophication.     

Heat shock protein 47 stress responses in Chinese hamster ovary cells exposed to raw and reclaimed wastewater

As wastewater reclamation and reuse becomes more widespread, risks of exposure to treated wastewater increase. Moreover, an unlimited number of pollutants can be identified in wastewater. Therefore, comprehensive toxicity assessment of treated wastewater is imperative. The objective of this study was to perform a comprehensive toxicity assessment of wastewater treatment systems using stress response bioassays. This powerful tool can comprehensively assess the toxicity of contaminants. In this study, samples from conventional activated sludge treatment, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) with different pore sizes and sludge retention times (SRTs), rapid sand filtration, coagulation, nano-filtration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) were investigated. The results of stress response bioassays confirmed that the secondary effluent showed higher stress response than influent indicating that biological treatment generates toxic compounds. The results obtained from molecular weight fractionation of water samples demonstrated that organic matter with a higher molecular weight fraction (>0.1 μm) causes toxicity in secondary effluent. Furthermore, supernatant from MBR reactors showed toxicity regardless of SRT. On the other hand, stress response was not detected in MBR permeates except for an MBR equipped with a larger pore size membrane (0.4 μm) and with a short SRT (12 days). While rapid sand filtration could not remove the toxic compounds found in secondary effluent, coagulation tests, operated at an appropriate pH, were effective for reducing stress response in the secondary effluent. Experimental findings also showed that stress response was not detected in cases of NF and RO permeate subsequent to MBR treatment.     

Speciation of iron in river water using a specific catalytic determination and size fractionation

A comprehensive speciation scheme was proposed for the speciation of iron in river water (0.45 microm filtrate). The speciation was based on the catalytic determination of reactive iron as Fe3+ and Fe(III)Li/(3 -in)+, where i = 1 or 2 for a unidentate and i = 1 for a bidentate ligand, Ln-. The scheme incudes size fractionation and acid decomposition of the sample and determination of the coexisting species. The proposed scheme was applied to natural and artificial samples and acidified preparations of these. Resulting fractionation patterns of reactive and unreactive iron and of coexisting humic acid were useful for the characterization of iron species in the natural samples. The reactive iron in the molecular weight (Mr) > or = 10(4) fraction was associated with humic iron aggregates and estimated as iron complexed with them. The unreactive iron in this fraction dissociated in 0.1 M HCI and was estimated as iron in the aggregates of iron(III) hydroxide (s) and humic iron. From the fractionation results of the artificial sample, the reactive and unreactive iron in the Mr < 10(3) fraction may be formed by complexing simple anions like F- and C2O4(2-) at their naturally-occurring concentration levels. The fractionation results also suggested that humic acid and Si contributed to the formation of reactive and unreactive iron in the Mr > or = 10(4) fraction.     

Aquatic humus from an unpolluted Brazilian dark-brown stream: general characterization and size fractionation of bound heavy metals

The main pool of dissolved organic carbon in tropical aquatic environments, notably in dark-coloured streams, is concentrated in humic substances (HS). Aquatic HS are large organic molecules formed by micro-biotic degradation of biopolymers and polymerization of smaller organic molecules. From an environmental point of view, the study of metal humic interactions is often aimed at predicting the effect of aquatic HS on the bioavailability of heavy metal ions in the environment. In the present work the aquatic humic substances (HS) isolated from a dark-brown stream (located in an environmental protection area near Cubat?o city in S?o Paulo-State, Brazil) by means of the collector XAD-8 were investigated. FTIR studies showed that the carboxylic carbons are probably the most important binding sites for Hg(II) ions within humic molecules. 13C-NMR and 1H-NMR studies of aquatic HS showed the presence of constituents with a high degree of aromaticity (40% of carbons) and small substitution. A special five-stage tangential-flow ultrafiltration device (UF) was used for size fractionation of the aquatic HS under study and for their metal species in the molecular size range 1-100 kDa (six fractions). The fractionation patterns showed that metal traces remaining in aquatic HS after their XAD-8 isolation have different distributions. Generally, the major percentage of traces of Mn, Cd and Ni (determined by ICP-AES) was preferably complexed by molecules with relatively high molecular size. Cu was bound by fractions with low molecular size and Co showed no preferential binding site in the various humic fractions. Moreover, the species formed between aquatic HS and Hg(II), prepared by spiking (determined by CVAAS), appeared to be concentrated in the relatively high molecular size fraction F1 (> 100 kDa).     

Chemical speciation and partitioning of trace metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb) in the lower Athabasca river and its tributaries (Alberta, Canada)

Concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu, Ni and Pb were measured in particulate and dissolved phases at 11 sites located upstream and near Athabasca oil sands development. The in situ discrimination between non-labile and labile dissolved metals was done using diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) devices. The DGT-labile fraction of Co and Ni was 30% lower near development sites whereas Cu, Cd and Pb showed minor changes spatially. It was found that an 8-fold increase in dissolved organic matter (DOM) near development induced a rapid decrease in DGT-labile metals. Dissolved metal concentrations were used along with DOM, major ions, nutrients, pH and conductivity to calculate the distribution of dissolved metal species using the speciation model WHAM. Labile-DGT metal concentrations agreed well with WHAM-predicted concentrations. It was also found that a significant amount of metals were associated with the non-DGT labile fraction (i.e. colloidal DOM) and colloid abundance was more important than suspended particulate matter abundance in influencing metal mobility near Athabasca oil soils development. Since changes in colloidal DOM levels are likely to be the result of surface mining activities, this confirms the serious effects of oil sands activities on metal biogeochemical cycles in the lower Athabasca River.     

Uranium speciation in moorland river water samples: a comparison of experimental results and computer model predictions

An on-line method has been developed for separating inorganic and organic bound uranium species present in river water samples. The method utilised a small chelating resin (Hyphan) column incorporated into the sample introduction manifold of an ICP-MS instrument. The method was evaluated for samples from rivers on Dartmoor (Devon, UK), an area of granite overlain with peat bogs. The results indicate that organic-uranium species form a major proportion (80%) of the total dissolved uranium present. Further work with synthetic water samples indicated that the level of dissolved organic carbon played a greater role in determining the level of organic-uranium species than did sample pH. Computer models for the water samples were constructed using the WHAM program (incorporating uranium data from the Nuclear Energy Agency Thermochemical Database project) in order to predict the levels of organic-uranium species that would form. By varying the proportion of humic and fulvic acids used in the humic component, predictions within 10% of the experimental results were obtained. The program did exhibit a low bias at higher pH values (7.5) and low organic carbon concentrations (0.5 microg ml(-1)), but under the natural conditions prevalent in the Dartmoor water samples, the model predictions were successful.     

Study of the effect of pH, salinity and DOC on fluorescence of synthetic mixtures of freshwater and marine salts

In order to provide support for the discussion of the fate of organic matter in estuaries, a laboratory simulation was performed by changing freshwater ionic strength, pH and organic matter content. The change in spectroscopic characteristics caused by variations in salinity, pH and organic matter concentration in the filtered samples was observed by UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The increase in emission fluorescence intensity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) due to increasing salinity (in the range 0 to 5 g l-1) is affected by the pH of the samples. The emission fluorescence intensity at the three maxima observed in the fluorescence spectra, is linearly correlated with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration at several salinity values in the same sample. The increase in organic matter concentration caused a shift in the emission peak wavelength at 410 nm for several salinity values. We concluded that it is necessary to take into account the influence of salinity and pH on emission fluorescence of dissolved organic matter if it is to be used as a tracer in estuarine or near shore areas.