Effect of dissolved organic matter on mercury release from water body

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays an important role in the process of mercury release from water body. In this study, the influence of DOM from different sources (DOMR, DOMS and DOMH, extracted from rice straw, compost and humic soil respectively) on mercury reduction was investigated. The molecular weight distribution and chemical composition of DOM from each source were determined using ultrafiltration membrane technique and elemental analysis respectively. The result showed that mercury release from DOM-added samples was much lower than the control; the lowest mercury release flux was observed in the treatment of DOMH, 25.02% of the control, followed by DOMS and DOMR, 62.46% and 64.95% of the control, respectively. The higher saturation degree and lower molecular weight of DOMH was responsible for the highest inhibition degree on the mercury release. The link between DOMH, concentration and mercury flux was also estimated and the result showed that mercury flux was increased with DOMH at lower concentration, while decreased with DOMH at higher concentration. Different mechanism dominated the influence of DOM on mercury release with variation of DOM concentration.