Fan Su

Environmental Occurrence and Distribution of Short Chain Chlorinated Paraffins in Sediments and Soils from the Liaohe River Basin, P. R. China

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are industrially produced in large quantities in the Liaohe River Basin. Their discharge inevitably causes environmental contamination. However, very limited information is available on their environmental levels and distributions in this typical industrial region. In this study, short chain CPs (SCCPs) were analyzed in sediments, paddy soils, and upland soils from the Liaohe River Basin, with concentrations ranging from 39.8 to 480.3 ng/g dry weight. A decreasing trend in SCCP concentrations was found with increasing distance from the cities, suggesting that local industrial activity was the major source of SCCP contamination. A preliminary sediment inventory of SCCPs indicated approximately 30.82 tonnes of SCCPs residual in the sediments from the Liaohe River. The average discharge of SCCPs was estimated to be about 74.4 mg/tonne industrial wastewater. The congener group profiles showed that the relative abundances of shorter chain and lower chlorinated CP congeners (C(10)-CPs with 5 or 6 chlorine atoms) in soils in rural areas were higher than in sites near cities, which demonstrated that long-range atmospheric transportation could be the major transport pathway. Environmental degradation of SCCPs might occur, where higher chlorinated congeners could dechlorinate to form the lower chlorinated congeners.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sediments of the Daliao River Estuary, China: levels, distribution and their influencing factors.

The concentrations, compositional profiles, possible sources of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediments of the Daliao River Estuary as well as the factors influencing the distribution of PBDEs were investigated. The total concentrations of PBDEs ranged from 0.13 to 1.98 ng g(-1)d.w. BDE209 was the dominating congener in all sediment samples, indicating the pollution of PBDEs in the Daliao River Estuary mainly came from the use of deca-BDE commercial mixtures. The intrusion of sea waters promoted the deposition of the colloid-associated PBDEs in the estuary. There were significantly negative correlations between PBDE concentration in sediment with pH value and salinity in the bottom water. The higher river flow in the flood season (summer) obviously accelerated the transport of PBDEs, and thereby increased the risk of PBDE contamination to the deep ocean. Moreover, a positive correlation between TOC and PBDE distributions was observed, suggesting that TOC regulated the distributions of PBDEs in sediments of Daliao River Estuary.

2,4-Dimethylphenol imprinted polymers as a solid-phase extraction sorbent for class-selective extraction of phenolic compounds from environmental water.

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared using 2,4-dimethylphenol (2,4-DMP) as template. The synthesis is optimized by using three different porogens, chloroform, acetonitrile and toluene. The MIP was used as a class-selective sorbent in molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MIP-SPE) for pre-concentration and determination of phenolic compounds from the environmental water. The difference in recognition selectivity of the polymer columns was observed in HPLC system. The variables affecting the extraction efficiency of MIP-SPE procedure were systematically investigated to facilitate the class-selective extraction of phenols from spiked water samples. The spiked aqueous solution was adjusted to pH 6.0 before being percolated through the MIP-SPE cartridge at the flow rate of 0.5mLmin(-1). After rinsing with dichloromethane, the bound phenolic compounds were desorbed with acetonitrile containing 5% aqueous ammonia. The developed MIP-SPE method was demonstrated to be applicable to the analysis of phenolic compounds in the environmental water.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in soils and sediments from Daliao River Basin, China

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) were analyzed in surface sediments and top soils collected from 30 sites in Daliao River Basin. The concentrations of PCDD/F ranged from 0.28 to 29.01 ng TEQ kg(-1) dw (mean value, 7.45 ng TEQ kg(-1)dw) in sediments, and from 0.31 to 53.05 ng TEQ kg(-1)dw (mean value, 7.00 ng TEQ kg(-1)dw) in soils. PCDD/F pollution in sediments from the mid- and downstream sections of Hun River was found to be relatively heavy, and the levels of PCDD/F contamination in paddy soils were generally higher than those of upland soils. Using multivariate statistical analysis, the PCDD/F homologue and congener profiles of all soil and sediment samples were compared with those of suspected PCDD/F sources. The results showed that, PCDD/F contamination in most sediments of Hun River should mainly originated from the production of organochlorine chemicals, while metal smelting was the important potential source of PCDD/F in the drainage area of Taizi River. PCDD/F contamination in paddy soils should be simultaneously attributed to the polluted water irrigation and the organochlorine pesticide application.

Soil column chromatography for correlation between capacity factors and soil organic partition coefficients for eight pesticides

Abstract A soil column chromatographic method was developed to measure the capacity factors (k′) of pesticides, in which soil acted as a stationary phase and methanol-water mixture as an eluent. The k′ values of eight pesticides, including three insecticides (methiocarb, azinphos-methyl, fenthion), four fungicides (triadimenol, fuberidazole, tebuconazole, pencycuron), and one herbicide (atrazine), were found to be well fitted to a retention equation, ln k′ = ln k′w-Sθ. Due to similar interactions of solutes with soil and solvent in both sorption determination and retention experiment, log k′ has a good linear correlation with log Koc for the eight pesticides from different classes, in contrast with poor correlation between log k′ from C18 column and log Koc. So the method provides a tool for rapid estimation Koc from experimental k′.

Enrichment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater with magnesium oxide microspheres as a solid-phase extraction sorbent

The enrichment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water samples with magnesium oxide (MgO) microspheres was evaluated, and four 3-5-ring PAHs were used as probes to validate the adsorption capacity of the material. Factors affecting the recovery of PAHs were investigated in detail, including the type and concentration of organic modifiers, elution solvents, particle size of the adsorbent, volume and flow rate of the samples, and the lifetime of MgO cartridges. The recoveries of four PAHs extracted from 20 mL of seawater spiked with standard PAHs ranged from 85.8% to 102.0% under the optimised conditions. The limits of detection varied from 1.83 ng L(-1) to 16.03 ng L(-1), indicating that the analytical method was highly sensitive. Additionally, the proposed method was successfully used to enrich PAHs in seawater. Compared to conventional methods, the proposed method consumed less organic modifier (5% acetone), and cheaper sorbents with comparable extraction efficiency were employed.

Molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction coupled with HPLC for the selective determination of monobutyl phthalate in bottled water

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared using monobutyl phthalate as template. The synthesis was optimized by using different porogens and functional monomers. The MIP was used as a selective sorbent in molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MIP-SPE) for pre-concentration and determination of monobutyl phthalate (mBP) from the bottled water. The difference in recognition selectivity of the polymer columns was observed in HPLC system, and the effect of the mobile phase on the performance of MIP columns was also investigated. Control of the MIP-SPE process is seen as important in helping to facilitate the selective extraction of mBP from water samples. Thereafter, the choice of washing solvent, eluting solvent amount, pH of loading sample, flow rate of loading solution and the loading sample volume was presented. The optimized procedure was described as follows: 25 mL spiked aqueous solution was percolated through the MIP-SPE cartridge at the flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. After rinsing with acetonitrile/methanol mixture (1:1, v/v), the bound analyte was desorbed with 3 mL methanol. The developed MIP-SPE method was demonstrated to be applicable for the analysis of mBP in the bottled water.

A column method for determination of soil organic partition coefficients of eight pesticides

A column method was developed to conveniently and reliably determine the soil organic partition coefficients (K-oc) of three insecticides (methiocarb, azinphos-methyl, fenthion), four fungicides (triadimenol, fuberidazole, tebuconazole, pencycuron), and one herbicide (atrazine), in which real soil acted as a stationary phase and the water solution of pesticide as an eluent. The processes of sorption equilibrium were directly shown through a breakthrough curve(BTC). The log K-oc values are 1.69, 1.95, 2.25, 2.55, 2.69, 2.67, 3.10, and 3.33 for atrazine, triadimenol, methiocarb, fuberidazole, azinphos-methyl, tebuconazole, fenthion and pencycuron, respectively.

The selective cleanup of complex matrices and simultaneous separation of benzo[a]pyrene by solid-phase extraction with MgO microspheres as sorbents.

A new method for the selective cleanup of complex matrices and simultaneous separation of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) was developed in this study. This method was based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) using magnesium oxide microspheres as sorbents, and it eliminated interferences from various impurities, such as lipids, sulphur, pigments, halobenzenes, polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorodibenzofurans. Several parameters, including the volume of rinsing and eluting solvents, the type of loading solvents and SPE sorbents, were optimized systematically. The capability for impurity removal was verified by gel permeation chromatography, gas chromatography, and liquid chromatography. Compared to commercial sorbents (silica gel, florisil and alumina), MgO microspheres exhibited excellent performance in the selective isolation of BaP and removal of impurities. The proposed method was applied to detect BaP in complex samples (sediments, soils, fish, and porcine liver). The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 1.04 ngL(-1), and the resulting regression coefficient (r(2)) was greater than 0.999 over a broad concentration range (9.5-7600 ngL(-1)). In contrast to traditional methods, the proposed method can give rise to higher recovery (85.1-100.8%) and better selectivity with simpler operation and less consumption of organic solvents (20-40 mL).

Release and Gas-Particle Partitioning Behaviors of Short-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins (SCCPs) During the Thermal Treatment of Polyvinyl Chloride Flooring

Chlorinated paraffin (CP) mixture is a common additive in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products as a plasticizer and flame retardant. During the PVC plastic life cycle, intentional or incidental thermal processes inevitably cause an abrupt release of short-chain CPs (SCCPs). In this study, the thermal processing of PVC plastics was simulated by heating PVC flooring at 100-200 °C in a chamber. The 1 h thermal treatment caused the release of 1.9-10.7% of the embedded SCCPs. A developed emission model indicated that SCCP release was mainly controlled by material-gas partitioning at 100 °C. However, release control tended to be subjected to material-phase diffusion above 150 °C, especially for SCCP congeners with shorter carbon-chain lengths. A cascade impactor (NanoMoudi) was used to collect particles of different sizes and gas-phase SCCPs. The elevated temperature resulted in a higher partition of SCCPs from the gas-phase to particle-phase. SCCPs were not strongly inclined to form aerosol particles by nucleation, and less present in the Aitken mode particles. Junge-Pankow adsorption model well fitted the partitioning of SCCPs between the gas-phase and accumulation mode particles. Inhalation exposure estimation indicated that PVC processing and recycling workers could face a considerably high risk for exposure to SCCPs.