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Simulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon remobilization in typical active regions of river system under hydrodynamic conditions

  • SEDIMENTS, SEC 2 • BIOGEOCHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROCESSES • RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Abstract

Purpose

In an aquatic environment, hydrodynamic condition is a ubiquitous natural process, and the contaminated sediments will act as a potential pollution source once they are remobilized into the overlying water. In this study, remobilization behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) under simulated hydrodynamic conditions was studied. Additionally, an adjusted prediction model with addictive consideration of surface properties was developed to exhibit the distribution of PAHs in hydrodynamic system.

Materials and methods

An improved syntonic turbulence-simulation device (TSD) was used to simulate hydrodynamic conditions. Two sediments from the Yellow River Delta (YRD) and the intersection of Yangtze and Hanjiang River (YHR), respectively, were used to represent variations in organic carbon contents and sediment surface characteristics. Five PAHs including acenaphthene (Ace), fluorine (Flu), phenanthrene (Phe), fluoranthene (Fla), and pyrene (Pyr) were selected as the target compounds in this study.

Results and discussion

∑PAH concentrations in particles on volume normalization increased 74.1% and 18.5% for the YRD and YHR samples, respectively, and the same increasing trend was observed for individual PAHs. On mass weight basis, ∑PAHs were observed to decrease for both the YRD (from 2,039.5 to 1,149.7 ng g−1) and YHR (4,222.7 ng g−1 to 2,914.2 ng g−1) samples. Interestingly, concerning the different heights of the TSD, the YRD-associated PAHs showed an opposite behavior comparing with the YHR-bound PAHs.

Conclusions

The remobilization of less contaminated, larger-size particles was found to skew the PAH concentration downward, which resulted in the opposite PAH behaviors of the YRD and YHR samples. The distribution of PAHs between solid and liquid phases was affected by both organic carbon contents and surface areas of the remobilized sediments.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2006CB403303) and the National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars (50625926). We gratefully acknowledge project 40701166 supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Lili Wang & Zhifeng Yang

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  1. Lili Wang
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  2. Zhifeng Yang
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Correspondence to Zhifeng Yang.

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Responsible editor: Jan Schwarzbauer

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Wang, L., Yang, Z. Simulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon remobilization in typical active regions of river system under hydrodynamic conditions. J Soils Sediments 10, 1380–1387 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-010-0286-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-010-0286-3

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