Resistant sorption of in situ chlorobenzenes and a polychlorinated biphenyl in river Rhine suspended matter

The desorption kinetics of in situ chlorobenzenes (dichlorobenzenes, pentachlorobenzene and hexachlorobenzene) and 2,4,4^′-trichlorobiphenyl (PCB-28) were measured with a gas-purge technique for river Rhine suspended matter sampled in Lobith, The Netherlands. This suspended matter is the main source of sediment accumulation in lake Ketelmeer. In lake Ketelmeer sediment earlier observations showed that slow and very slow fractions dominate the desorption profile.

For the river Rhine suspended matter, only for PCB-28 a fast desorbing fraction of around 1.6% could be detected. The observed rate constants were on the average 0.2 h⁻¹ for fast desorption, 0.004 h⁻¹ for slow desorption, and 0.00022 h⁻¹ for very slow desorption. These values are in agreement with previous findings for the sediment from lake Ketelmeer and with available literature data on fast, slow, and very slow desorption kinetics.

The results from this study show the similarity of desorption profiles between river Rhine suspended matter, and the top layer sediment from lake Ketelmeer. This indicates that slow and very slow fractions are already present in material forming the top layer of lake Ketelmeer, and were not formed after deposition of this material in the lake. The absence of detectable fast fractions for most compounds could be caused by the absence of recent pollution of the suspended matter. But, the observations may also be explained by a rapid disappearance of compounds from the fast fraction due to a combination of a high affinity of very slow sites for these compounds, and their relatively high volatility.     

Growth of Plants on TBT-contaminated Harbour Sludge and Effect on TBT Removal (10 pp)

Background Worldwide, large amounts of sediments have to be dredged annually from waterways and harbours. These sediments are sometimes polluted with a variety of toxic compounds. In some countries, including Belgium, the load with the biocide tributyltin (TBT) from ship coatings prohibits the dumping of harbour sludge into the sea. Land-based dumping is a commonly used alternative. Objective This research investigated the feasibility to use land-deposited harbour sludge for plant production. In a field trial, the growth of 38 more or less salt-tolerant plant species on low and high TBT-contaminated sediments was studied. The elimination of TBT from sludge with and without vegetation was compared. The uptake of TBT and its degradation products di- and monobutyltin (DBT and MBT) into harvest products under field conditions was determined. - Experimental Set-up. Sediments dredged in May 2003 from the brackish waters of the port of Antwerp were analysed in the laboratory for soil texture, pH, electroconductivity, sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium, ammonium, nitrate, total nitrogen, chloride, sulphur and the organotins TBT, DBT and MBT. The sediments were lagooned for one year to dewater, desalinate and improve their structure. Salt-tolerant domestic and wild plants were selected and sown in May 2004. In August 2004, plants were harvested and the produced biomass was determined. Samples were taken from vegetated and non-vegetated top and bottom sediments and from plants growing above soil and analysed for TBT, DBT and MBT. Results The fresh sediments showed a good supply with nutrients and a neutral pH, but were rather saline (EC 14 mS cm-1 of the saturated paste extract). The salinity decreased to 3.7 mS cm-1 during lagoonation. The high and the low contaminated sediment had initially 43 and 1.6 mg TBT kg-1 dry weight, respectively. Besides TBT, several other contaminants were present in the sediments at critical levels. The biomass production of the plant species from the field trial ranged from 0.2 to 13 tons dry mass per hectare. Plants performing excellently were barley, sorghum, rape seed, a clover/grass mix and reed. If at all, a positive influence of TBT on plant growth was seen. TBT was degraded significantly faster (>40%) below barley. The uptake of TBT, DBT and MBT into stem and leaves of reed, grass and clover was very low, but measurable and not related to concentrations in soil. No uptake of TBT or its metabolites into corn of barley was found. Discussion This study confirmed former results: the toxicity of TBT to higher plants is low, and even high levels in soils would not be a hindrance for crop production. The removal of TBT seemed to be increased by both lagooning and plant growth, although the target values for sea dumping in use in certain European countries were not reached. A plausible explanation for the faster degradation of TBT under vegetation is that oxygen is a limiting factor, and plants dewater the soil, thus aerating it. The uptake of the organotins TBT, DBT and MBT into harvest products is probably due to attached soil particles. Conclusions To summarize, barley was the optimal species: it grew very well despite the salinity of the dredged sediments, it had a significantly positive effect on TBT removal; it showed no measurable uptake of TBT or the other butyltins into the harvested product; and it is a cash crop well established in European agriculture. Outlook The amounts of dredged sediments are high, and good soils are becoming increasingly rare. The feasibility of using dredged sediments for non-food production, such as energy crops, should be investigated by a critical risk assessment.     

利用水泥处理垃圾渗滤液生物处理出水的研究

利用水泥的表面吸附和水化反应性质处理垃圾渗滤液生物处理出水可以取得很好的效果,COD的去除率可达69.5%.处理效果与水灰比、反应时间密切相关,低水灰比和较长反应时间对COD的去除更为有利.对处理前后水样的COD和TOC分析表明,水泥对非TOC贡献的COD有很强的去除效果.     

Surface complexation modeling of Yb(III) sorption and desorption on hematite and alumina

Sorption and desorption of Yb(III) were studied on hematite and on alumina using a surface complexation model. The experimental methodology was conceived to allow an analysis of the data using a constant capacitance model. The FITEQL code was used for the calculations.The experimental results tend to show reversibility of sorption when the surface loading is small, and irreversibility when the surface loading is high. Surface complexation modeling gives a good interpretation of these two phenomena, taking into account hydroxylation of the surface complexes. In these two cases, it is possible to describe sorption and desorption curves with the same surface stoichiometries and the same surface complexation constants. The existence of these surface complexes depends on the pH of the solution, surface loading, and reaction direction.     

A new approach for modelling potential effects in cation adsorption onto binary (hydr) oxides

The current approach for modelling ion adsorption onto binary (hydr)oxides using homogeneous surface complexation models involves the assumption of either an ideal mixture of the two surfaces (i.e. two surface sites on one surface) or a patchwise surface (i.e. two surfaces with one surface site on each surface). As the physical truth should be between these two limiting cases, a model which assumes a patchwise surface constituted of three patches is proposed. Two patches represent the distinct (hydr)oxides, and the third one a mixture of these distinct (hydr)oxides. Using the diffuse layer model, the three approaches are applied to literature data for Cd adsorption onto binary mixtures of alumina-coated silica at total constant Cd concentration and varying amounts of alumina coatings. For Cd adsorption onto these binary (hydr)oxide systems, the new approach explains the observed potential effects. The proposed model, which contains two additional adjustable parameters in terms of site concentrations or one adjustable parameter in terms of specific surface area, is more successful than the two limiting cases. The new model is then validated by predicting Ca and Zn behaviour on the same binary (hydr)oxide system.     

The SeKT joint research project: definition of reference conditions, control sediments and toxicity thresholds for limnic sediment contact tests

- In current biotest approaches, intact organisms or in vitro systems are exposed to sediments using different exposure scenarios. The most important issue in sediment toxicity testing protocols is the question which test phase (solid or liquid) should be used. Whole-sediment exposure protocols represent the most realistic scenario to simulate in situ exposure conditions in the laboratory. However, until now there is no agreement in how to acquire and to evaluate the data of the various available sediment contact assays. The SeKT joint research project was initiated with the aim to compare recently developed sediment contact assays by addressing reference conditions, control sediments and toxicity thresholds for limnic sediment contact tests.     

Speciation of heavy metals in estuarine sediments in the northeast of Brazil

An analytical procedure involving a three-step sequential extraction was used to determine the chemical association of heavy metals (Zn, Cr, Mn and Fe) with the major phases (exchangable, reducible and oxidizable) in samples from a fishpond of estuarine sediments. The pond is located in the Capibaribe River estuary, within the boundaries of the city of Recife, in the State of Pernambuco in the northeast of Brazil. The total metal content was determined as well. All metals were extracted from the residual fraction at a percentage greater than 50%.     

Determination of 4-tert-octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol and bisphenol A in surface waters from the Haihe River in Tianjin by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring

The estrogenic pollutants 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), 4-nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) were determined in surface water samples from the Haihe River, Tianjin, China. The analytes were extracted and concentrated from 300 ml acidified water samples by liquid–liquid extractions using dichloromethane, derivatized with trifluoroacetic anhydride, and quantified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) with selected ion monitoring (SIM). Among the samples collected from 14 sampling sites, only one sample was found to have a relatively high concentration of BPA (8.30 μg l⁻¹) and NP (0.55 μg l⁻¹). The concentrations of OP, NP and BPA in the other samples were in the range of 18.0–20.2, 106–296 and 19.1–106 ng l⁻¹, respectively. Recoveries for OP, NP and BPA in the spiked water samples were all over 80%.     

辽河口沉积物环境要素时空动态及影响因素分析

以辽河口为研究区域,利用遥感影像数据、现状调查数据和历史监测数据,系统地分析了辽河口沉积物质量历史变化趋势和空间分异规律,并进一步研究不同海域使用类型和不同植被演替阶段对沉积物环境要素分异特征的影响.结果表明,辽河口区域沉积物质量总体良好,各要素平均含量均符合一类沉积物质量要求;沉积物营养元素呈现显著的带状分布规律,重金属元素空间分布具有一定随机性,未呈现显著规律;不同海域使用类型对沉积物污染物富集的影响具有一定差异显著性,说明重金属及污染物的分布受到人类活动的影响,具有一定的随机性;植被不同演替阶段下主控因子具有显著差异,初级阶段主要受盐度控制,随着由盐生植被向陆生植被逐渐过渡,植被分布特征与总有机碳(TOC)、总氮(TN)和总磷(TP)的内在联系逐渐增大,同时重金属等污染物含量与植被群落内在联系并不显著.     

雨水管道沉积物沉淀特性及主要污染物含量分布

为研究雨水管道沉积物的沉淀特性和污染物含量特征,在武汉市对建筑(包括住宅小区)、道路和绿地3种用地类型的雨水管道沉积物进行采样和分析.沉速测试结果表明,高沉速颗粒在沉积物中所占比例较大,建筑和道路中沉积物的沉速分布相对稳定,建筑、道路和绿地中沉速大于3.00 cm·s-1的颗粒占比依次递减.粒径分析结果显示,沉积物粒径分布范围较广,大多集中在13~628μm范围内,且同种用地类型沉积物粒径分布差别很大.按沉降速度将每份沉积物样品分为7组,分析化学需氧量(COD)、总氮(TN)和总磷(TP)含量与沉降速度之间的联系.结果表明,沉速大于3.00 cm·s-1和小于0.025cm·s-1的沉积物中污染物含量较低,但高沉速沉积物中污染物总量较多.对沉积物样品整体而言,各用地类型COD含量从高到低依次为:绿地道路建筑;道路雨水管道沉积物中氮含量较低,其余两种用地中含量接近;建筑区雨水管道沉积物中磷含量较高,其余两种用地中含量接近;COD∶TN在(51~89)∶1之间,COD∶TP的值在(102~186)∶1之间.