Chuanyuan Wang

Geochemistry of organic carbon and nitrogen in surface sediments of coastal Bohai Bay inferred from their ratios and stable isotopic signatures

Total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) and their δ(13)C and δ(15)N values were determined for 42 surface sediments from coastal Bohai Bay in order to determine the concentration and identify the source of organic matter. The sampling sites covered both the marine region of coastal Bohai Bay and the major rivers it connects with. More abundant TOC and TN in sediments from rivers than from the marine region reflect the situation that most of the terrestrial organic matter is deposited before it meets the sea. The spatial variation in δ(13)C and δ(15)N signatures implies that the input of organic matter from anthropogenic activities has a more significant influence on its distribution than that from natural processes. Taking the area as a whole, surface sediments in the marine region of coastal Bohai Bay are dominated by marine derived organic carbon, which on average accounts for 62±11% of TOC.

Distributions and sources of petroleum, aliphatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments from Bohai Bay and its adjacent river, China.

Surface sediment samples from Bohai Bay and its adjacent river, China, were analyzed for aliphatic hydrocarbon, PAHs and biomarkers in order to determine the distribution, composition and source of organic matter in a coastal environment. Results suggested that the input of organic matter from anthropogenic activities has a more significant influence on its distribution than that from natural processes. Petroleum contamination, mainly from offshore oil exploration and discharge of pollutants from rivers, was the main source of n-alkanes. PAHs were mostly of pyrogenic origin; while some sites in Yellow River Estuary were derived mainly from the petrogenic sources. The toxic assessment suggested that the PAHs in surface sediments will not cause immediately adverse biological effects in sediments from Bohai Bay and its adjacent river, China.

Chemical characterization of naturally weathered oil residues in the sediment from Yellow River Delta, China

With its close proximity to Shengli Oilfield, Chinas second largest oilfield, the Yellow River Delta is at high risk for crude oil contamination. The massive oil discharge in oilfield may offer a chance for a natural experiment to investigate compositional changes of oil residues and study the stability of source- and weathering-dependent molecular parameters in oil residues after spills. The results demonstrate that the conventional diagnostic ratios, such as C2920S/(20S+20R), C29/C30H, C30βα/αβ, C3122S/(22S+22R), C2-DBTs/C2-PHENs, C3-DBTs/C3-PHENs, DBT/MCHRY, CHRY/PHENs, are also valid for oil source identification even after extensive weathering of spilled oils in terrestrial environment, although some exceptions were encountered for extensively weathered sample. Moreover, the ratios of selected specific biomarkers (the oleanane index, the gammacerane index) have been developed and assessed as source indicators. Finally, we find that some maturity parameters based on alkyl naphthalenes and methyl phenanthrenes in petroleum geochemistry, such as the methylnaphthalene ratios (TMNr, TeMNr, PMNr), the methylphenanthrene ratios (MPI-1, MPDF), can be applied for the source identification and correlation at their lightly to moderately weathered stage.

Nitrogen cycle of a typical Suaeda salsa marsh ecosystem in the Yellow River estuary

The nitrogen (N) biological cycle of the Suaeda salsa marsh ecosystem in the Yellow River estuary was studied during 2008 to 2009. Results showed that soil N had significant seasonal fluctuations and vertical distribution. The N/P ratio (15.73 +/- 1.77) of S. salsa was less than 16, indicating that plant growth was limited by both N and P. The N absorption coefficient of S. salsa was very low (0.007), while the N utilization and cycle coefficients were high (0.824 and 0.331, respectively). The N turnover among compartments of S. salsa marsh showed that N uptake from aboveground parts and roots were 2.539 and 0.622 g/m2, respectively. The N translocation from aboveground parts to roots and from roots to soil were 2.042 and 0.076 g/m2, respectively. The N translocation from aboveground living bodies to litter was 0.497 g/m2, the annual N return from litter to soil was far less than 0.368 g/m2, and the net N mineralization in topsoil during the growing season was 0.033 g/m2. N was an important limiting factor in S. salsa marsh, and the ecosystem was classified as unstable and vulnerable. S. salsa was seemingly well adapted to the low-nutrient status and vulnerable habitat, and the nutrient enrichment due to N import from the Yellow River estuary would be a potential threat to the S. salsa marsh. Excessive nutrient loading might favor invasive species and induce severe long-term degradation of the ecosystem if human intervention measures were not taken. The N quantitative relationships determined in our study might provide a scientific basis for the establishment of effective measures.

Source diagnostic and weathering indicators of oil spills utilizing bicyclic sesquiterpanes

Bicyclic Sesquiterpanes (BSs) are ubiquitous components of crude oils and ancient sediments. BSs in crude oils and diesel oil were identified and characterized, the effects of moderate weathering on BS distributions were discussed, and a methodology using diagnostic indices of BSs was developed for oil correlation and differentiation. The results showed that crude oils and oil products had different abundances and distributions of BSs and, consequently, resulted in different diagnostic ratios. The selected diagnostic ratio indices of BSs, such as BS4/BS5 (ratio of 4,4,8,9,9-pentamethyl-decahydronaphthalene to 8β(H)-drimane), BS6/BS5 (ratio of 4,4,9,9,10-pentamethyl-decahydronaphthalene to 8β(H)-drimane), BS8/BS9 (ratio of the second peak to the third peak of C16 sequiterpane), and BS8/BS10 (ratio of C16 sequiterpane to 8β(H)-homodrimane), still maintained better stabilities (%RSD < 5%) after weathering for 30 d. The longer weathering process (150 d) had some effect on such ratios (5% < %RSD < 10%). The facts of the uniqueness, abundance in petroleum, and chemical stability of BSs enable them to be suitable as an effective diagnostic means for identifying spilled oil with moderate weathering, particularly for lighter refined product samples that are difficult to identify by current techniques.

Petroleum hydrocarbons in a water-sediment system from Yellow River estuary and adjacent coastal area, China: Distribution pattern, risk assessment and sources

Aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs), biomarker and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentrations of surface water and sediment samples collected from Yellow River Estuary and adjacent coastal area in China were measured to determine their spatial distributions, analyze their sources and evaluate the ecological risk of PAHs in the water-sediment system. The spatial distributions of n-alkane in sediments are mainly controlled by the mixing inputs of terrigenous and marine components. In comparison with AHs, the total concentrations of Σ16PAHs in surface sediments from a transect of the offshore area were noticeably higher than that of the riverine and estuary areas. Additionally, the AHs and total PAHs concentrations all indicated an overall pattern of a seaward decrease. The PAHs concentrations during the dry season (mainly in the form of dissolved phase) were higher than that of PAHs (mainly dissolved phase and particulate phase form) in the flooding season. In comparison with global concentration levels of PAHs, the level of PAHs in suspended particulate matter and sediments from the Yellow River Estuary was lower than those from other countries, while the concentration of PAHs in the dissolved phase were in the middle range. Petroleum contamination, mainly from oil exploration and discharge of pollutants from rivers, was the main source of n-alkanes. The PAHs in the river were mostly of petrogenic origin, while those in the estuarial and marine areas originated mainly from pyrogenic sources. The results of the toxicology assessment suggested that the PAHs in sediments from Yellow River Estuary and adjacent coastal area exhibited a low potential eco-toxicological contamination level.

Assessing pollution-related effects of oil spills from ships in the Chinese Bohai Sea.

An analysis of the effects of potential oil spills will provide data in support of decisions related to improving the response to oil spills and its emergency management. We selected the Chinese Bohai Sea, especially the Bohai Strait, as our investigation region to provide an assessment of the effects of pollution from ship-related oil spills on adjacent coastal zones. Ship-related accidents are one of the major factors causing potential oil spills in this area. A three dimensional oil transport and transformation model was developed using the Estuary, Coastal, and Ocean Model. This proposed model was run 90 times and each run lasted for 15days to simulate the spread and weathering processes of oil for each of four potential spill sites, which represented potential sites of ship collisions along heavy traffic lanes in the Bohai Sea. Ten neighboring coastal areas were also considered as target zones that potentially could receive pollutants once oil spilled in the study areas. The statistical simulations showed that spills in winter were much worse than those in summer; they resulted in very negative effects on several specific target zones coded Z7, Z8, Z9, and Z10 in this paper. In addition, sites S3 (near the Penglai city) and S4 (near the Yantai city) were the two most at-risk sites with a significantly high probability of pollution if spills occurred nearby during winter. The results thus provided practical guidelines for local oil spill prevention, as well as an emergency preparedness and response program.

Thermal simulation of the formation and evolution of coalbed gas

Thermal simulation experiment of gas generation from the peat and the coals were performed using the high temperature and pressure apparatus, at temperature ranging from 336.8–600 °C, a pressure of 50MPa and two heating rates of 20 °C/h and 2 °C/h, and the evolution and formation of coalbed gas components were studied. Results show that for the coals, the gaseous products are mainly composed of hydrocarbon gases. However, for the peat the content of hydrocarbon gases in gaseous products is lower than that of non-hydrocarbon components. In the generated hydrocarbon gases methane is predominant and heavy hydrocarbon gases (C2–5) are present in small amount. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide (CO2) predominates the generated non-hydrocarbon gases, and hydrogen (H2) and sulfurated hydrogen (H2S) are existent in trace amount. It is also observed that temperature is the main factor controlling the evolution of coalbed gas generation. With increasing vitrinite reflectance, methane rapidly increases, CO2 sightly increases, and C2–5 hydrocarbons first increase and then decrease. The peat and Shanxi formation coal have a higher generative potential of coalbed gases than coals and Taiyuan formation coal, respectively, reflecting the effect of the property of organic matter on the characteristics of coalbed gas component generation. In this study, it is found that low heating rate is favorable for the generation of methane, H2 and CO2, and the decomposition of C2–5 hydrocarbons. This shows that heating time plays an important controlling role in the generation and evolution of coalbed gases. The results obtained from the simulation experiment in the study of coalbed gases in natural system are also discussed.

New diagnostic ratios based on phenanthrenes and anthracenes for effective distinguishing heavy fuel oils from crude oils

The heavy fuel oils (HFOs) and crude oils are the main oil types in the marine oil spill accidents in China. It is usually a challenge to distinguish the HFOs from crude oils due to the highly similar physicochemical characteristics. In this paper, the distributions of phenanthrene (Phe), anthracene (Ant), methyl-phenanthrene (MP) and methyl-anthracene (MA) in hundreds of HFOs and crude oils samples which were collected from all over the world were characterized. Nine new diagnostic indexes, such as Ant/(Ant+Phe) and other eight diagnostic ratios based on the MP isomers and MA, were developed for effective distinguishing HFOs from crude oils. The histogram with normal fit plots, the double ratio plots and Bayes discriminant analysis (BDA) method were employed to illustrate the effectiveness of the new diagnostic indexes. BDA model based on nine new diagnostic indexes demonstrated high precision with discriminant ratio which lay between 93.92% and 99.32%.

Evaluation of diagnostic ratios of medium and serious weathered oils from five different oil sources

Laboratory experiments were conducted to simulate oil weathering process, a medium to long term weathering process for 210-d, using samples collected from five different oil resources. Based on relative deviation and repeatability limit analysis about indexes of these samples, the results show there had been significant changes in diagnostic ratios among the initial and weathered samples of different oils during this process. Changes of selected n-alkane diagnostic ratios of all oil samples displayed more obviously than diagnostic ratios of terpanes, steranes and PAHs in this process. Almost all selected diagnostic ratios of terpanes, steranes and PAHs can be efficiently used in tracking sources of hydrocarbon pollution, differentiating from the n-alkane diagnostic ratios. In these efficient diagnostic ratios, only four ratios maintained good stability in the weathering processes and are more suitable because their relative deviation (RSD) are lower than 5%.