Xiaopeng Qin

Adsorption of levofloxacin onto goethite: Effects of pH, calcium and phosphate

Adsorption of levofloxacin (LEV), one of the extensively used antibiotics, onto goethite was investigated using batch experiments. The adsorption of LEV on goethite was pH-dependent. A maximum adsorption was reached at pH 6. Above or below pH 6, the adsorption decreased. In the presence of calcium (Ca(2+)), a decrease in adsorption was observed, due to probably formation of Ca(2+)-LEV complexes in solutions. Phosphate also showed a significant inhibition on LEV adsorption over a pH range of 3-10. Phosphate competed with LEV for binding sites on the surface of goethite, and the electrostatic competition between LEV and phosphate on goethite surface might be another reason for the decrease in adsorption. These results indicated that Ca(2+) and phosphate have a great influence on the distribution of LEV in soils and waters, which will eventually affect its antibacterial activity in the environment.

Modeling of levofloxacin adsorption to goethite and the competition with phosphate

Interaction between various compounds in natural systems may influence the adsorption of these species and their environmental fate. In this work, we studied the interactions between a widely used antibiotic levofloxacin (LEV) and phosphate at the surface of goethite (α-FeOOH), which was important to better understand the competitive adsorption of antibiotics and oxyanions in natural systems. The presence of phosphate decreased LEV adsorption to goethite significantly over the whole pH range. The other way around, LEV had a little influence on phosphate adsorption. Eight types of LEV-goethite complexes were proposed and modeled in our study. Electrostatic competition was the main reason for the competition of binary components (LEV and phosphate) to goethite surface. Adsorption of single component (LEV or phosphate) to goethite was well predicted using the CD-MUSIC (Charge Distribution Multi-Site Complexation) model. In competition experiments, phosphate adsorption was still predicted well, but LEV adsorption was overestimated in model calculations. This is because less negative charge of LEV is located at outer electrostatic plane in our study, which decreases their electrostatic competition to goethite surface.

Adsorption of diclofenac onto goethite: Adsorption kinetics and effects of pH

The adsorption of diclofenac (DCF), one of the widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, onto the surface of goethite was investigated with batch experiments. The adsorption at different pH values (5.3, 7.4, and 10.0) were well fitted with the pseudo-second-order model. The results showed that the adsorption of DCF onto goethite was strongly depended on solution pH. The amount of adsorbed DCF decreased with increasing pH duo to electrostatic repulsive interactions. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results indicated that carboxyl group (COOH) might be involved in the adsorption, and DCF formed bidentate chelate and bridging bidentate complexes on the surface of goethite.

Simultaneous analysis of small organic acids and humic acids using high performance size exclusion chromatography

An accurate and fast method for simultaneous determination of small organic acids and much larger humic acids was developed using high performance size exclusion chromatography. Two small organic acids, i.e. salicylic acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and one purified humic acid material were used in this study. Under the experimental conditions, the UV peaks of salicylic acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid were well separated from the peaks of humic acid in the chromatogram. Concentrations of the two small organic acids could be accurately determined from their peak areas. The concentration of humic acid in the mixture could then be derived from mass balance calculations. The measured results agreed well with the nominal concentrations. The detection limits are 0.05 mg/L and 0.01 mg/L for salicylic acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, respectively. Applicability of the method to natural samples was tested using groundwater, glacier, and river water samples (both original and spiked with salicylic acid and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid) with a total organic carbon concentration ranging from 2.1 to 179.5 mg C/L. The results obtained are promising, especially for groundwater samples and river water samples with a total organic carbon concentration below 9 mg C/L.

Application of a self-organizing map and positive matrix factorization to investigate the spatial distributions and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils from Xiangfen County, northern China

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in 128 surface soil samples from Xiangfen County, northern China. The total mass concentration of these PAHs ranged from 52 to 10,524ng/g, with a mean of 723ng/g. Four-ring PAHs contributed almost 50% of the total PAH burden. A self-organizing map and positive matrix factorization were applied to investigate the spatial distribution and source apportionment of PAHs. Three emission sources of PAHs were identified, namely, coking ovens (21.9%), coal/biomass combustion (60.1%), and anthracene oil (18.0%). High concentrations of low-molecular-weight PAHs were particularly apparent in the coking plant zone in the region around Gucheng Town. High-molecular-weight PAHs mainly originated from coal/biomass combustion around Gucheng Town, Xincheng Town, and Taosi Town. PAHs in the soil of Xiangfen County are unlikely to pose a significant cancer risk for the population.

Occurrences, Distributions, and Multivariate Analyses of Trace Elements in Agricultural Soils in the Xinzhou Area of Shanxi, China

Abstract Multivariate statistical analyses were used to assess the contents and distributions of trace elements in agricultural soils in Xinzhou of Shanxi Province, China, and to identify their sources. Samples with high levels of trace elements were concentrated in eastern Xinzhou, with contents declining from the east to west. Principal component and redundancy analyses revealed strong correlations among Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Se, V, and Zn contents, suggesting that these elements were derived from similar parent materials. There were also strong correlations between the contents of these elements and soil properties. Contents of Cd and Pb were significantly higher in the agricultural soil samples than in the background soil samples (P

Remediation of Nitrate‐contaminated Groundwater by a Mixture of Iron and Activated Carbon

Nitrate contamination in groundwater has become a major environmental and health problem worldwide. The aim of the present study is to remediate groundwater contaminated by nitrate and develop potential reactive materials to be used in PRBs (Permeable Reactive Barriers). A new approach was proposed for abiotic groundwater remediation by reactive materials of iron chips and granular activated carbon particles. Batch tests were conducted and remediation mechanisms were discussed. The results show that nitrate decreases from 86.31 to 33.79 mg⋅L−1 under the conditions of near neutral pH and reaction time of 1h. The combination of iron chips and activated carbon particles is cost‐effective and suitable for further use as denitrification media in PRBs. Nitrogen species don’t change significantly with the further increase in reaction time (>1 h). The iron‐activated carbon‐water‐nitrate system tends to be steady‐state. Small amounts of ammonium and nitrite (0.033–0.039 and 0.14–3.54 mg⋅L−1, respectively) appear a...