Changsheng Guo

Spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface water from Liaohe River Basin, northeast China.

Liaohe River Basin is an important region in northeast China, which consists of several main rivers including Liao River, Taizi river, Daliao River, and Hun River. As a highly industrialized region, the basin receives dense waste discharges, causing severe environmental problems. In this study, the spatial and temporal distribution of aqueous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Liaohe River Basin from 50 sampling sites in both dry (May) and level (October) periods in 2012 was investigated. Sixteen USEPA priority PAHs were quantified by gas chromatography/mass selective detector. The total PAH concentration ranged from 111.8 to 2,931.6xa0ng/L in the dry period and from 94.8 to 2766.0xa0ng/L in the level period, respectively. As for the spatial distribution, the mean concentration of PAHs followed the order of Taizi River > Daliao River > Hun River > Liao River, showing higher concentrations close to large cities with dense industries. The composition and possible sources of PAHs in the water samples were also determined. The fractions of low molecular weight PAHs ranged from 58.2 to 93.3xa0%, indicating the influence of low or moderate temperature combustion process. Diagnostic ratios, principal component analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to study the possible source categories in the study area, and consistent results were obtained from different techniques, that PAHs in water samples mainly originated from complex sources, i.e., both pyrogenic and petrogenic sources. The benzo[a]pyrene equivalents (EBaP) characterizing the ecological risk of PAHs to the aquatic environment suggested that PAHs in Liaohe River Basin had already caused environmental health risks.

H2O2 and/or TiO2 photocatalysis under UV irradiation for the removal of antibiotic resistant bacteria and their antibiotic resistance genes

Inactivating antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and removing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are very important to prevent their spread into the environment. Previous efforts have been taken to eliminate ARB and ARGs from aqueous solution and sludges, however, few satisfying results have been obtained. This study investigated whether photocatalysis by TiO2 was able to reduce the two ARGs, mecA and ampC, within the host ARB, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. The addition of H2O2 and matrix effect on the removal of ARB and ARGs were also studied. TiO2 thin films showed great effect on both ARB inactivation and ARGs removal. Approximately 4.5-5.0 and 5.5-5.8 log ARB reductions were achieved by TiO2 under 6 and 12mJ/cm2 UV254 fluence dose, respectively. For ARGs, 5.8 log mecA reduction and 4.7 log ampC reduction were achieved under 120mJ/cm2 UV254 fluence dose in the presence of TiO2. Increasing dosage of H2O2 enhanced the removal efficiencies of ARB and ARGs. The results also demonstrated that photocatalysis by TiO2 was capable of removing both intracellular and extracellular forms of ARGs. This study provided a potential alternative method for the removal of ARB and ARGs from aqueous solution.

Hierarchical mesoporous TiO2 microspheres for the enhanced photocatalytic oxidation of sulfonamides and their mechanism

Sulfonamides, a group of antibacterial agents, are not readily biodegradable and as a result have often been detected in wastewater effluents, rivers and lakes. This work investigated the photocatalytic degradation of sulfadimethoxine (SDM) and related sulfonamides in H2O2 containing aqueous suspensions of mesoporous TiO2 microspheres exposed to simulated solar light irradiation. The three-dimensional mesoporous TiO2 microsphere catalyst was fabricated by a facile method via a one-step solvothermal process without templates. The performance of mesoporous TiO2 microspheres exceeded the commercially available P25 TiO2 catalyst in the photocatalytic degradation of sulfonamides. Sulfadimethoxine degradation increased and reached the optimal H2O2 concentration of 5.9 mM. Particularly, the disappearance of SDM as well as the formation and decomposition of some degradation intermediates were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (HPLC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography-selective ion recording (HPLC-SIR) data modules, and possible photocatalytic degradation mechanisms were proposed. The hydroxylation and cleavage of the S–N or C–N bonds through •OH attacks on the aromatic rings and aminopyrimidine rings under simulated solar light irradiation with the assistance of H2O2 played important roles during SDM photocatalytic degradation.

Sediment PAH source apportionment in the Liaohe River using the ME2 approach: A comparison to the PMF model.

Environmental contaminant source apportionment is essential for pollution management and control. This study analysed surface sediment samples for 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAH sources were identified by two receptor models, which included positive matrix factorization (PMF) and multilinear engine 2 (ME2). Three PAH sources in the Liaohe River sediments were identified by PMF, including traffic, coke oven and coal combustion. The ME2 model apportioned one additional source. The two models yielded excellent correlation coefficients between the measured and predicted PAH concentrations. Traffic emission was the primary PAH source associated with the Liaohe River sediments, with estimated PMF contributions of 58% in May and 63% in September. Coke oven (19%-25%) and coal combustion (13%-18%) were the other two major PAH sources. For ME2, gasoline and diesel were separated: accounted for 14% in May and 16% in September; and 53% in May and 48% in September. This study marks the first application of the ME2 model to study sediment contaminant source apportionment. The methodology can potentially be applied to other aquatic environment contaminants.

Distribution, source characterization and inventory of perfluoroalkyl substances in Taihu Lake, China

The levels, distribution, possible sources, and inventory of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in the eutrophic freshwater Taihu Lake, East China were investigated in this study. Among the target 11 PFAAs, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (2.15-73.9 ng L(-1)) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) (<LOQ-22.2 ng L(-1)) were the dominant components in surface water, followed by perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) with the maximum concentration of 10.5 ng L(-1). PFOS was also dominant (0.13-6.95 ng g(-1) dw) in the sediments, accounting for 15-85% of ΣPFAAs concentrations in 70% of the sediment samples. Sediment-water partitioning coefficients showed that logKOC increased linearly with the increasing chain length, with the logKOC values increased by 0.1-0.4 log unit with each CF2 moiety from C8 to C12 perfluorinated carboxylic acids. Three specific molecular ratios, PFOS/PFOA, PFOA/PFNA and PFHpA/PFOA were used to characterize the potential sources. It indicated that the majority of pollutants was from direct emissions from manufacturing processes. The PFOA/PFNA ratios between 1.7 and 56.8 in surface water suggested the influence of secondary sources such as the degradation of volatile precursor substances. Given the high ratios of PFHpA/PFOA (0.05-7.93), it also indicated the influence from atmospheric deposition to the epilimnion. The predicted environmental concentrations were calculated from European Union system for the evaluation of substances model (EUSES). As expected, the predicted environmental concentration (PEC) of PFOS in sediment fit well to the monitored level of PFOS in this region, and the inventory of ΣPFCA and PFOS were estimated to be 989 kg and 646 kg in Taihu Lake.

Spatial distribution and toxicity assessment of heavy metals in sediments of Liaohe River, northeast China

Twenty-four surface sediment samples were collected from Liaohe River in June 2014 for the analysis of total concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Ni, Fe, and Mn. The spatial distribution of heavy metals in Liaohe River was site specific, with Hun River as the most polluted river mainly affected by industrial and human activities. The contents of acid-volatile sulfide (AVS) and simultaneously extracted metals (SEMs) in Liaohe River varied significantly, ranging from 0.03 to 19.4xa0μmol/g and 0.14 to 10.8xa0μmol/g, respectively. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) community size, organic matter and sulfate availability, and sediment redox status may be the main factors affecting the AVS distribution. Among all the acid-extracted metals, Zn was dominant in all samples, whereas much more toxic Cd contributed less than 1.0xa0% to the total SEMs. Sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) and AVS-SEM models were used to predict the sediment toxicity. Results revealed that only a small portion of sites exhibited potential metal toxicity to aquatic biota, while adverse effects should rarely occur in majority of sites. Comparison of the two assessment methods showed inconsistent results, indicating that each method had its own limitations. The combination of different methods will be more convincing as to the sediment quality assessment.

Bioassay-directed identification of toxicants in sediments of Liaohe River, northeast China.

Contaminants accumulated in sediments may directly harm benthic organisms, however, the specific contaminants responsible for adverse effects have been poorly described. In this study, a bioassay-directed analysis combined with toxicity tests and chemistry analysis was conducted to determine the compounds eliciting the greatest toxicological effect in the sediments in Liaohe River, northeast China. A total of 24 sediment samples were examined to determine their acute toxicity to midge Chironomus tentans (C.xa0tentans). Of these samples, 15 exhibited significant toxicity, with a mortality of 23%-93% (pxa0<xa00.05). Numerous contaminants, including 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 32 polychlorinated biphenyls, 20 organochlorine pesticides, 6 organophosphate pesticides, 8 pyrethroids, and 5 heavy metals were analyzed. On the basis of toxic unit (TU) analysis results, pyrethroids may contribute to the toxicity of 9 of the 15 toxic samples with concentrations of >1 TU. The significant correlation between the TUs of pyrethroids and the mortality of C.xa0tentans (r2xa0=xa00.74, pxa0<xa00.01) confirmed the major role of pyrethroids in toxicity. The selected sediment samples responding to piperonyl butoxide and low temperature with the increased toxicity exhibited the characteristics of pyrethroids. The bioassay-based screening framework provided strong evidence that pyrethroids were the primary cause of sediment toxicity in Liaohe River. Further studies should therefore be conducted to regulate this important class of pollutants.