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Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether Leachability from Biosolids and Their Partitioning Characteristics in the Leachate

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Abstract

Biosolids are commonly applied to agricultural soils. A laboratory investigation was carried out to determine polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congener profiles in biosolids and leachability by water. In addition, PBDE fractionation in water and suspended solids of different sizes was examined to determine the potential for enhanced mobility of these contaminants within soils. The leachates from glass column experiments were passed through a series of filters, and the filtrates and retained particles analyzed for PBDEs. PBDEs were found to sorb on solid particles suspended in the leachate, allowing PBDEs to be present at concentrations exceeding their aqueous solubilities. The filtration process indicated that PBDEs are associated with fine and ultrafine particles. Filters of different pore sizes provide a better indication of PBDE levels in the leachate compared to not filtering or using a single filter. PBDEs concentrations were much higher on ultrafine than on fine particles, due to the greater surface area and higher organic content of the former.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge financial assistance from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada. We are also grateful to the supplier of the biosolids and thankful to the staff of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Regional Dioxin Laboratory at the Institute of Ocean Sciences for their assistance in analyzing the samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Tamer Gorgy & Loretta Y. Li

  2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    John R. Grace

  3. Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, BC, Canada

    Michael G. Ikonomou

Authors
  1. Tamer Gorgy
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  2. Loretta Y. Li
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  3. John R. Grace
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  4. Michael G. Ikonomou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Loretta Y. Li.

Electronic supplementary materials

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Table S1

Biosolids used in LCT prior to leaching (DOC 123 kb)

Table S2

PBDEs in biosolids from leaching tests (DOC 124 kb)

Table S3

PBDEs in fines and ultrafines (g/sample) (DOC 160 kb)

Table S4

PBDE in the aqueous samples (DOC 237 kb)

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Gorgy, T., Li, L.Y., Grace, J.R. et al. Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether Leachability from Biosolids and Their Partitioning Characteristics in the Leachate. Water Air Soil Pollut 209, 109–121 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0184-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0184-8

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