Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Distribution and partition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in surface water of the Pearl River Estuary, South China

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Water samples were collected in the Pearl River Estuary in July 2002 and April 2003. The particulate and dissolved phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined. Total PAH concentrations in water samples were higher in April of 2003 (C p: 4.0–39.1 ng/L or 445.1–1,089.9 ng/g; C w: 15.9–184.2 ng/L) than in July of 2002 (C p: 2.6–26.6 ng/L or 297.7–1,336.6 ng/g; C w: 12.9–28.3 ng/L). It was found that 5, 6-ring PAHs enrich in the inner estuary samples and so did 3-ring PAHs in the July samples. Compositional differences in the suspended particulate matter (SPM) might be responsible for this observation. The partition coefficient (K p) increased with the increasing of the particular organic carbon content of suspended particles as well as the salinity of water, decreased with the increase of the total suspended particles content of samples. A linear correlation between logK OC and logK OW was found in two sampling periods. The observed values of logK OC exceed their predicted values derived form linear free energy relationship between logK oc and logK ow, which could be attributed to the nonlinear sorption of soot-like carbons in suspended particles.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Accardi-Dey, A., & Gschwend, P. M. (2003). Reinterpreting Literature Sorption Data Considering both Absorption into Organic Carbon and Adsorption onto Black Carbon. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 99–106.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Booij, K., Hoedemaker, J. R., & Bakker, J. F. (2003). Dissolved PCBs, PAHs, and HCB in pore waters and overlying waters of contaminated Harbor sediments. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 4213–4220.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cai, Y., Ning, X., & Liu, Z. (2002). Studies on primary production and new production of Zhujiang Estuary. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 24, 101–111 (In Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, S. J., Luo, X. J., Mai, B. X., Sheng, G. Y., Fu, J. M., & Zeng, E. Y. (2006). Distribution and mass inventories of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary and the northern South China Sea. Environmental Science and Technology, 40, 709–714.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, B., Xuan, X., Zhu, L., Wang, J., Gao, Y., Yang, K., et al. (2004). Distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface waters, sediments and soils of Hangzhou City, China. Water Research, 38, 3558–3568.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cornelissen, G., Gustafsson, Ö., Bucheli, T. D., Jonker, M. T. O., Koelmans, A. A., & van Noort, P. C. M. (2005). Extensive sorption of organic compounds to black carbon, coal, and kerogen in sediments and soils: mechanisms and consequences for distribution, bioaccumulation, and biodegradation. Environmental Science and Technology, 39, 6881–6895.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Countway, R. E., Dickhut, R. M., & Canuel, E. A. (2003). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) distributions and associations with organic matter in surface waters of the York River, VA Estuary. Organic Geochemistry, 34, 209–224.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, H. M., Peng, P. A., Huang, W. L., & Song, J. Z. (2006). Distribution and loadings of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Xijiang River in Guangdong, South China. Chemosphere, 64, 1401–1411.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes, M. B., Sicre, M. A., Boireau, A., & Tronczynski, J. (1997). Polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) distributions in the Seine River and its Estuary. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 34, 857–867.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gigliotti, C. L., Brunciak, P. A., Dachs, J., Glenn, T. R., Nelson, E. D., Totten, L. A., et al. (2002). Air-water exchange of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the New York–New Jersey, USA, harbor estuary. Enviromental Toxicol Chemistry, 21, 235–244.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, Ö., & Gschwend, P. M. (1997). Molecular markers in environmental geochemistry. In R. P. Eganhouse (Ed.), ACS Symposium Series 671 (p. 365–381). Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karickhoff, S. W., Brown, D. S., & Scott, T. A. (1979). Sorption of hydrophobic pollutants on natural sediments. Water Research, 13, 241–248.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, G. B., Maruya, K. A., Lee, R. F., Lee, J. H., Koh, C. H., & Tanabe, S. (1999). Distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments from Kyeonggi Bay, Korea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 38, 7–15.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ko, F.-C., & Baker, J. E. (2004). Seasonal and annual loads of hydrophobic organic contaminants from the Susquehanna River basin to the Chesapeake Bay. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 48, 840–851.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, X. J., Chen, S. J., Mai, B. X., Yang, Q. S., Sheng, G. Y., & Fu, J. M. (2006). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in suspended particulate matter and sediments from the Pearl River Estuary and adjacent coastal areas, China. Environmental Pollution, 139, 9–20.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, X. J., Mai, B., Yang, Q. S., Fu, J. M., Sheng, G. Y., & Wang, Z. S. (2004). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides in water columns from the Pearl River and the Macao harbor in the Pearl River Delta in South China. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 48, 1102–1115.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mai, B. X., Fu, J. M., Sheng, G. Y., Kang, Y. H., Lin, Z., Zhang, G., et al. (2002). Chlorinated and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in riverine and estuarine sediments from Pearl River Delta, China. Environmental Pollution, 117, 457–474.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mai, B. X., Qi, S. H., Zeng, E. Y., Yang, Q. S., Zhang, G., Fu, J. M., et al. (2003). Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the coastal region off Macao, China: Assessment of input sources and transport pathways using compositional analysis. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 4855–4863.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maldonado, C., Bayona, J. M., & Bodineau, L. (1999). Sources, distribution, and water column processes of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the northwestern Black Sea water. Environmental Science and Technology, 33, 2693–2702.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Means, J. C. (1995). Influence of salinity upon sediment-water partitioning of aromatic hydrocarbons. Marine Chemistry, 51, 3–16.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mitra, S., & Bianchi, T. S. (2003). A preliminary assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon distributions in the lower Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. Marine Chemistry, 82, 273–288.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olivella, M. A. (2006). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rainwater and surface waters of Lake Maggiore, a subalpine lake in Northern Italy. Chemosphere, 63, 116–131.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Readman, J. W., & Mantoura, R. F. C. (1984). Transfer processes in cohesive sediment systems. W. R. Parket & D. J. J. Kinsman (Eds.), (pp. 155–170). New York: Plenum Press.

  • Schrap, S. M., Haller, M., & Opperhuizen, A. (1995). Investigating the influence of incomplete separation of sediment and water on experimental sorption coefficients of chlorinated benzenes. Enviromental Toxicol Chemistry, 14, 219–228.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vilanova, R. M., Fernandez, P., Martinez, C., & Grimalt, J. O. (2001). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in remote mountain lake waters. Water Research, 35, 3916–3926.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whitehouse, B. G. (1984). The effects of temperature and salinity on the aqueous solubility of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Marine Chemistry, 14, 319–332.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Witt, G. (2002). Occurrence and transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the water bodies of the Baltic Sea. Marine Chemistry, 79, 49–66.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zakaria, M. P., Takada, H., Tsutsumi, S., Ohno, K., Yamada, J., Kouno, E., et al. (2002). Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rivers and estuaries in Malaysia: A widespread input of petrogenic PAHs. Environmental Science and Technology, 36, 1907–1918.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng, E. Y., Yu, C. C., & Tran, K. (1999). In situ measurements of chlorinated hydrocarbons in the water column off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, California. Environmental Science and Technology, 33, 392–398.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Z., Dai, M., Hong, H., Zhou, J. L., & Yu, G. (2002). Dissolved insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in the Pearl River Delta Estuary and South China Sea. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 4, 922–928.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Z. L., Hong, H. S., Zhou, J. L., & Yu, G. (2004). Phase association of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Minjiang River Estuary, China. The Science of the Total Environment, 323, 71–86.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, H. T. (1990). Evolution of the Pearl River Estuary. Beijing: Ocean Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, J. L., Fileman, T. W., Evans, S., Donkin, P., Readman, J. W., Mantoura, R. F. C., et al. (1999). The partition of fluoranthene and pyrene between suspended particles and dissolved phase in the Humber Estuary: a study of the controlling factors. The Science of the Total Environment, 243–244, 305–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, J. L., & Maskaoui, K. (2003). Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and surface sediments from Daya Bay, China. Environmental Pollution, 121, 269–281.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Xiao-Jun Luo, Bi-Xian Mai, She-Jun Chen & Eddy Y. Zeng

  2. Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Zhongshan University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Qing-Shu Yang

Authors
  1. Xiao-Jun Luo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bi-Xian Mai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qing-Shu Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. She-Jun Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Eddy Y. Zeng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bi-Xian Mai.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Luo, XJ., Mai, BX., Yang, QS. et al. Distribution and partition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in surface water of the Pearl River Estuary, South China. Environ Monit Assess 145, 427–436 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-0051-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-0051-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation