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Sediment–pore water partition of PAH source contributions to the Yellow River using two receptor models

  • SEDIMENTS, SEC 1 • SEDIMENT QUALITY AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Understanding the fate and behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) sources in aquatic systems is important for the efficiency of control policies. In this work, a new approach—organic carbon-normalized sediment–pore water partition coefficients of PAH source contributions (logK′Osource)—was developed to study the sediment–pore water partition of PAH source contributions. The focus of this study was the Yellow River, which is the second largest river in China and one of the largest rivers in the world.

Materials and methods

Sixteen priority US Environmental Protection Agency PAHs were analyzed in 14 surface sediments and 11 pore water samples. Principal component analysis–multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR) and Unmix models were employed to estimate the source contributions of PAHs in sediments and pore water samples. Finally, logK′Osource values were calculated according to the modeled source contributions of PAHs.

Results and discussion

ΣPAHs (sum of the 16 PAH concentrations) in 14 sediment samples and 11 pore water samples from the Yellow River were 1,415 ± 726 ng g−1 dry weight (dw) and 123 ± 57.4 μg l−1, respectively. The source apportionment results indicate the following: (1) for sediment samples, the contributions to ΣPAHs from vehicular emissions, coal combustion, and petrogenic sources were 41.07–61.05, 38.83–45.56, and 11.18–14.92 %, respectively, and (2) for pore water samples, vehicular emissions were the most significant contributor (45.51–69.39 %), followed by petrogenic sources (29.80–34.22 %) and coal combustion (7.35–21.59 %). Coal combustion had the highest logK′Osource values (4.15–4.26) among the three categories, followed by vehicular emissions (3.51–3.57) and petrogenic sources (3.30–3.43).

Conclusions

The possible categories of PAH sources identified by hierarchical cluster analysis, PCA-MLR, and Unmix models were consistent, indicating that vehicular emissions, coal combustion, and petrogenic sources were three important categories. The logK′Osource values indicate that contributions from coal combustion had a higher partition for the sediment phase compared with the other two source categories.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by China's national basic research program, “Water environmental quality evolution and water quality criteria in lakes” (2008CB418201), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, People’s Republic of China

    Guo-Liang Shi, Ying-Ze Tian & Yin-Chang Feng

  2. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment and Laboratory of Riverine Ecological Conservation and Technology, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, People’s Republic of China

    Chang-Sheng Guo, Jian Xu & Yuan Zhang

Authors
  1. Guo-Liang Shi
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  2. Ying-Ze Tian
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  3. Chang-Sheng Guo
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  4. Yin-Chang Feng
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  5. Jian Xu
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  6. Yuan Zhang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Chang-Sheng Guo or Yuan Zhang.

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Responsible editor: Jay Gan

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ESM 1

Further information on the map of sampling sites, fits between the modeled results, as well as the levels and profiles of PAHs in sediments and pore water of Yellow River are presented in Figs. S1–S3 and Table S1, respectively (DOC 146 kb)

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Shi, GL., Tian, YZ., Guo, CS. et al. Sediment–pore water partition of PAH source contributions to the Yellow River using two receptor models. J Soils Sediments 12, 1154–1163 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0540-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0540-y

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