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Assessment of organic pollution of an industrial river by synchronous fluorescence and UV–vis spectroscopy: the Fensch River (NE France)

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Abstract

To rapidly monitor the surface water quality in terms of organic pollution of an industrial river undergoing restoration, optical methods (UV–visible spectrometry and fluorescence) were applied in parallel to classical physical–chemical analyses. UV–visible spectra were analyzed using the maximum of the second derivative at 225 nm (related to nitrates), specific absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA254), and the spectral slope between 275 and 295 nm (S 275–295) (related to the aromaticity and molecular weight of dissolved organic carbon). The synchronous fluorescence spectra (wavelength difference = 50 nm) exhibited a high variability in the composition of dissolved organic material between the upstream and downstream sections and also versus time. The principal components analysis of the entire set of synchronous fluorescence spectra helped to define three river sections with different pollution characteristics. Spectral decomposition was applied to the two most upstream sections: five fluorophores, classical in rivers impacted by domestic sewage and related to protein-like (λ ex = 280 nm) and humic-like fluorescence (M-type with λ ex ≈ 305–310 nm and C-type with λ ex ≥ 335 nm), were identified. The irregular shape of the synchronous fluorescence spectra in the most downstream section is likely due to organic pollutants of industrial origin; however, their variability and the complexity of the spectra did not allow the further elucidation of their nature.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Zone Atelier du Bassin de la Moselle (ZAM), the Région Lorraine, and the Val de Fensch Council for their help and financial support.

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  1. Laboratoire Réactions et Génie des Procédés, UMR CNRS 7274, Université de Lorraine, 1 rue Grandville, BP 20451, 54001, Nancy Cedex, France

    Aziz Assaad, Steve Pontvianne & Marie-Noëlle Pons

  2. LTER, Zone Atelier du Bassin de la Moselle, Laboratoire Réactions et Génie des Procédés, CNRS-Université de Lorraine, 1, rue Grandville, BP 20451, 54001, Nancy Cedex, France

    Marie-Noëlle Pons

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  1. Aziz Assaad
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Correspondence to Marie-Noëlle Pons.

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Assaad, A., Pontvianne, S. & Pons, MN. Assessment of organic pollution of an industrial river by synchronous fluorescence and UV–vis spectroscopy: the Fensch River (NE France). Environ Monit Assess 189, 229 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5933-3

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