Chemical characterization of organic carbon dissolved in natural waters using inorganic adsorbents.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in water samples from Lake Biwa was chemically characterized by two inorganic adsorbents with completely different surface characteristics. The two adsorbents were HIO (hydrous iron oxide) and SG (silica gel). Solutions of reference standard materials were analyzed concerning their adsorption behavior to HIO and SG for bovine serum albumin (BSA), fulvic acid extracted from the bottom sediments of Lake Biwa, phthalic acid, and starch. The adsorption of DOC to HIO was mainly controlled by ligand exchange and electrostatic interaction; that of SG was by electrostatic interaction. It was found that in a weak acid solution of around pH 5, BSA adsorbs to both HIO and SG, but that fulvic acid, phthalic acid and starch only show adsorption to HIO. Using these characteristics, DOC samples in natural water samples were characterized into pro-DOC, which adsorbs to both HIO and SG at pH 5, and car-DOC, which only adsorbs to HIO at pH 5. The DOC samples in Lake Biwa on October 7, 1997, at sampling sites Nb-2 and Nb-5 (south basin of Lake Biwa, the depths were about 2 and 4 m), and Ie-1 (north basin of Lake Biwa, the depth was about 75 m) were characterized. The pro-DOC has different values, depending on their sampling sites and depths, and had the maximum value of 0.42 mg C l(-1) at the surface water of Ie-1, and had the lowest values at middle to deeper water depths (0.18-0.27 mg C l(-1)). The car-DOC showed a relatively stable value at Ie-1 regardless of the depth (0.63-0.83 mg C l(-1)), and the maximum value was observed in Nb-2 and Nb-5 (1.2 and 1.3 mg C l(-1)). The ratios between car-DOC and pro-DOC concentrations were 0.2-0.5, and had different values for different sampling sites and depths. The ratios were significantly different for surface water samples where the biological activities are high and for bottom water samples where decomposition predominates.     

Functional speciation of metal-dissolved organic matter complexes by size exclusion chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and deconvolution analysis

High performance size exclusion chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HP-SEC–ICP-MS), in combination with deconvolution analysis, has been used to obtain multielemental qualitative and quantitative information about the distributions of metal complexes with different forms of natural dissolved organic matter (DOM). High performance size exclusion chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry chromatograms only provide continuous distributions of metals with respect to molecular masses, due to the high heterogeneity of dissolved organic matter, which consists of humic substances as well as biomolecules and other organic compounds. A functional speciation approach, based on the determination of the metals associated to different groups of homologous compounds, has been followed. Dissolved organic matter groups of homologous compounds are isolated from the aqueous samples under study and their high performance size exclusion chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry elution profiles fitted to model Gaussian peaks, characterized by their respective retention times and peak widths. High performance size exclusion chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry chromatograms of the samples are deconvoluted with respect to these model Gaussian peaks. This methodology has been applied to the characterization of metal–dissolved organic matter complexes in compost leachates. The most significant groups of homologous compounds involved in the complexation of metals in the compost leachates studied have been hydrophobic acids (humic and fulvic acids) and low molecular mass hydrophilic compounds. The environmental significance of these compounds is related to the higher biodegradability of the low molecular mass hydrophilic compounds and the lower mobility of humic acids. In general, the hydrophilic compounds accounted for the complexation of around 50% of the leached metals, with variable contributions of humic and fulvic acids, depending on the nature of the samples and the metals.     

Association of Am with humic substances isolated from river waters with different water quality

The association properties of Am with aquatic humic substances in a 0.01M NaClO₄ solution at pH 6-8 were studied on the basis of molecular size distribution. Ten humic substances isolated from river water with different water quality (pH 3.9-8.0 and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration of 2-40 mg/l) were used for comparing their effects on the association of Am. The molecular size distribution of Am in the presence of humic substances from an uncolored river water (DOC 2 mg/l) was different from that at the experimental systems using humic substances from brownish and high DOC (14-40 mg/l) river waters.     

Characterization of dissolved organic matter released from Microcystis aeruginosa.

The contribution of dissolved organic matter (DOM) released from phytoplankton (Microcystis aeruginosa) during cultivation and biodegradation was examined to clarify the causes of the organic pollution of Lake Biwa. Two peaks, peak 2 (retention time (RT) = 32 min) and peak 3 (RT = 35 min), were detected in the algal DOM released from Microcystis aeruginosa during cultivation and biodegradation by gel chromatography with a fluorescence detector (Ex = 340 nm, Em = 435 nm). As these peaks correspond with the peaks detected in the surface water of Lake Biwa, one can conclude that the algal DOM released from Microcystis aeruginosa during cultivation and biodegradation makes a considerable contribution to the refractory organic matter in Lake Biwa. Three fluorescence maxima were observed in the cultivation of Microcystis aeruginosa: a fulvic-like fluorescence peak (peak A) with Ex/Em values of 320/430 nm, a protein-like fluorescence peak (peak C) with Ex/Em values of 280/360 nm, and another peak with Ex/Em values of 240/370 nm. The fluorescence material of peak C has a larger MW than that of peak A. The algal-derived DOM from Microcystis aeruginosa has similar fluorescence to fulvic acid of soil origin but exhibits mainly hydrophilic characteristics. In the biodegradation of Microcystis aeruginosa, a fulvic-like fluorescence peak (peak B) with Ex/Em values of 250/440 nm and a peak with Ex/Em values of 320/380 nm were observed.     

Effect of solution chemistry on the fouling potential of dissolved organic matter in membrane bioreactor systems

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) as a potent foulant in membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems has attracted great attention in recent years. This paper attempts to elucidate the effect of solution chemistry (i.e. solution pH, ionic strength, and calcium concentration) on the fouling potential of DOM with different characteristics. Results of microfiltration experiments showed that the fouling potential of DOM having higher hydrophobic content increased more markedly at low pH due to the reduced ionization of carboxylic and phenolic functional groups of aquatic humic substances. In contrast, the fouling potential of hydrophilic DOM components and the molecular size of DOM appeared to be less affected by solution pH. The more compact molecular configuration of DOM at high ionic strength contributed to form a denser fouling layer, and limited the amount of foulants retained by the membranes on the other hand. DOM fouling potential greatly increased with increasing calcium concentration. The magnitude of the increase, however, was independent of the hydrophobicity of DOM, suggesting strong interactions exist between calcium ions and hydrophilic DOM components. Moreover, it was observed that the main mechanism governing the effect of calcium ions on the molecular size of DOM transited from charge shielding to complex formation as calcium concentration increased.     

Separation and determination of dissolved and particulate humic substances in river water

Distribution of humic and fulvic acids in participate or dissolved form is studied by using simple leaching and sorption techniques. After filtration of water sample (100–200 ml), the filter along with suspended particles is treated with 5 ml of chloroform and 3 ml of 0.1 mol/l sodium hydroxide solution. The filter dissolves completely in the organic phase, while the suspended particles remain in the aqueous phase enabling a leaching of humic substances. The leaching is repeated once more with 2 ml of 0.1 mol/l sodium hydroxide solution. The humic and fulvic acids in the combined solution are fractionated at pH l by filtration, where the membrane filter is preliminarily coated with sodium dodecyl sulfate. On the other hand, dissolved humic substances are concentrated from a 50-ml filtered sample by sorption on a DEAE-cellulose column. They are desorbed with 5 ml of 0.1 mol/l sodium hydroxide solution and fractionated at pH 1. The spectrophotometric analysis of river water reveals that fulvic acid is predominant in suspended particles as well as in filtered samples. The concentration of dissolved humic and fulvic acids is approximately ten times that of suspended particles.     

Humic substances of surface waters : Litter and soil throughflow relationships in two forested ecosystems

Humic substances were isolated from the vegetation throughfall, soil drainage waters and adjacent stream waters at two forested sites in the Central Region of Scotland. Fractionation on XAD-8 hydrophobic resin gave three humic substance components and one hydrophilic acid fraction. Norway spruce generally gave 2–3 times more dissolved organic carbon in the litter drainage compared with Sitka spruce, although there was little qualitative difference in organic acidity between the two litterflows. The humic substances in the drainage at ca. 1 m depth (BC horizon) showed considerable differences between sites, reflecting the types of soils and sources of soil water. Phenolic acids released on hydrolysis confirm the differences between sites and may indicate the sources of subsoil water and their relationships with the stream outputs.     

Limitations of electrospray ionization in the analysis of a heterogeneous mixture of naturally occurring hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds

A model heterogeneous mixture of a hydrophilic tripeptide (phenylalanine-glycine-glycine, PGG) and hydrophobic organic acids ((12)C- and (13)C-octanoic acid and pentadecanoic acid) was subjected to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The objective was to verify the previously noted inconsistencies in ESI-MS of complex environmental samples such as humic materials from either aquatic or terrestrial origins. The hydrophobic organic acids, either alone or together, reduced significantly the ESI-MS detection of the tripeptide molecular and self-associated ions at a concentration that was an order of magnitude lower than that of PGG. The most intense peaks were invariably those of the octanoic acid as either deprotonated, self-associated, or acetate-clustered molecules. The presence of equimolar amounts of PGG and organic acids yielded similar results, but with a significant increased detection of PDA and a smaller depression of the PGG signals. This behaviour is attributed to a different electrospray ionization of the mixture compounds depending on their most probable positioning at the surface of the evaporating droplet. The most favoured positioning of hydrophobic molecules at the aqueous-gas interphase allows preferential evaporation of hydrophobic ions whereas the hydrophilic molecules are retained in the droplet interior, and, their ESI-MS detection depressed. These findings suggest that the electrospray ionization of different molecules present in complex heterogeneous mixtures of environmental significance such as humic substances is limited by their concentration and reciprocal attracting forces.     

HPLC approach for revealing age-related changes of aquatic dissolved organic matter in sediment core

Analytical method based on HPLC has been used to characterize aquatic dissolved organic matter (DOM) from sediment core of Lake Võrtsjärv, South- Estonia. High-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) as separation method was coupled with diode-array detection (DAD) and separated molecular fractions of DOM were subject to qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis. Qualitative analysis based on UV- spectra revealed the presence of proteins and humic constituents in separated high molecular weight fraction and aromatic constituents in low molecular weight fraction. Statistical data treatment methods enabled clustering sediment layers into 4 periods according to sediment depth and age. The upper 0-30 cm sediment DOM had statistically relevant differences in comparison to other periods as revealed by lower total peak and humic substances (HS) fraction areas, and molecular weights. Samples from 80-120 cm depth differed from others by decreased low molecular weight (LMW) fraction content. The observed down-core trends suggest polymerization of LMW organic constituents and increasing humification. The statistical analyses revealed that some chromatographic and spectrometric parameters can be used to differentiate between sediment layers and to evaluate environmental changes.     

氯化和臭氧预氧化处理对污水中溶解性有机物发光细菌急性毒性的影响

考察了氯化和臭氧预氧化对污水中DOM 的发光细菌急性毒性的影响. 结果表 明, 臭氧预氧化处理后发光细菌的急性毒性显著增强. 利用树脂吸附将臭氧预氧化前后 的DOM 分离为疏水性和亲水性等6 种组分, 对DOM 的6 种组分分别氯化, 考察了氯化 前后各组分的发光细菌急性毒性. 结果发现, 亲水性组分的比例在臭氧预氧化后明显增 加, 且亲水性有机物的急性毒性显著强于疏水性有机物. 结合电位滴定和傅立叶红外分 析发现, 与疏水性有机物相比, 亲水性有机物具有较高含量的ph-OH 官能团.     

Effect of chlorination and ozone pre-oxidation on the photobacteria acute toxicity for dissolved organic matter from sewage treatment plants

The effect of chlorination and ozone pre-oxidation on the photobacteria acute toxicity for dissolved organic matter (DOM) from sewage treatment plants was investigated in this study. The results show that ozone pre-oxidation enhanced the photobacteria acute toxicity of the water samples. DOM before and after ozone pre-oxidation was fractionated by resins into six kinds of hydrophobic and hydrophilic organics. The six fractions were chlorinated individually and the photobacteria acute toxicity before and after chlorination was tested. It was found that the percentage of hydrophilic organics in DOM significantly increased after ozone pre-oxidation and hydrophilic organics exhibited remarkably higher acute toxicity than hydrophobic organics. In view of potentiometric titration and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, the hydrophilic organics showed a rather higher content of ph-OH structures than hydrophobic organics.     

A speciation methodology to study the contributions of humic-like and fulvic-like acids to the mobilization of metals from compost using size exclusion chromatography-ultraviolet absorption-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and deconvolution analysis

High performance size-exclusion chromatography (HP-SEC) with UV absorption for organic matter detection and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for elemental detection have been used to study the mobilization of metals from compost as a function of pH and the molecular mass of their complexes with dissolved organic matter (DOM). Due to its heterogeneous nature, organic matter mobilized from compost shows a continuous distribution of molecular masses in the range studied (up to 80 kDa). In order to differentiate between the contribution of humic and fulvic acids (FA) to the organic matter mobilized in the pH range 5-10, their UV absorption chromatographic profiles have been deconvoluted with respect to the adjusted gaussian profiles of the humic and fulvic acids isolated from compost. Results show a preponderant contribution of fulvic acids at low pH values and an increasing percentage of humic acids (HA) mobilized at basic pH (up to 49% of total DOM at pH 10). A similar deconvolution procedure has been applied to the ICP-MS chromatograms of selected metals (Co, Cu, Pb and Bi). In general, both fulvic and humic acids contribute to the mobilization of divalent transition metals, such as copper or cobalt, whereas bismuth or lead are preferably associated to humic acids. Non-humic substances (HS) also contribute to the mobilization of cations, especially at acidic pHs. These conclusions have been extended to different elements based on deconvolution analysis results at pH 7.     

Humic substances in surface waters of the Ukraine

The results of studies of humic substances in water bodies of different types (lakes, rivers, and reservoirs) are given. It is shown that concentration of these natural organic compounds varies in a wide range of values (from 1.2 to 126.5 mg L^?1) due to different sources of their formation. The highest concentrations of humic substances are characteristic for rivers of the Pripyat’ River basin flowing through the wetland. As we move from the north to the south, the content of humic substances is reduced. So, in the Kakhovka Reservoir, closing the Dnieper cascade of reservoirs, the concentration of humic substances is almost thrice as low as in the Kiev Reservoir, which is at the head of the cascade. Seasonal changes of humic substances concentration and the reasons for these changes are discussed. The prevailing fraction in the composition of humic substances is represented by fulvic acids, the content of which reaches 80.8–94.8% of the total. The results of studies of the molecular weight distribution of humic substances and the reasons for changes in the ratio of their individual fractions, depending on the detection method (spectrophotometric and fluorescence methods), are considered. The values of the number average (M _n) and weight average (M _w) molecular weight of humic substances and the degree of polydispersity are calculated. It is shown that M _w varies seasonally. In spring and summer it is lower, but significantly increased in autumn. The reason for this phenomenon is degradation of high-molecular fractions of humic substances under the influence of UV light of solar radiation and increased microbiological activity during the summer season. As a result of these processes high-molecular fractions of humic substances are transformed into fractions with lower molecular weight, which become predominant.     

Aqueous vibromagnetic extraction of hydrophilic and hydrophobic biologically active substances from peloids of varied genesis

Aqueous vibromagnetic extraction of hydrophobic and hydrophilic biologically active substances from peloids of varied origin (sapropels, and sulfide-slime mud) was developed. Instrumental analytical techniques (GC/MS, TLS, IR spectroscopy), gravimetry, and other methods were used to determine polar and nonpolar lipids and saturated and unsaturated fatty carboxylic and humic acids in colloid systems.     

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography method for measuring the composition of aquatic humic substances

A hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) method was developed to measure the composition of humic substances from river, reservoir, and treated wastewater based on their physicochemical properties. The current method fractionates the humic substances into four well-defined groups based on parallel analyses with a neutral and a cationic HILIC column, using mobile phases of varied compositions and pH. The results indicate that: (i) the proportion of carboxylic acids in the humic substances from terrestrial origins is less than half of that from treated wastewater (Jeddah, KSA), (ii) a higher content of basic compounds was observed in the humic substances from treated wastewater and Ribou Reservoir (Cholet, France) than in the sample from Loire River (France), (iii) a higher percentage of hydrophobic macromolecules were found in the humic substances from Loire River than in the other samples, and (iv) humic substances of treated wastewater contained less ionic neutral compounds (i.e., pK_a 5–9) than the waters from terrestrial origins. The physicochemical property disparity amongst the compounds in each humic substances sample was also evaluated. The humic substances from the lightly humic Loire river displayed the highest disparity, whereas the highly humic Suwannee river (Georgia, USA) showed the most homogeneous humic substances.     

Interaction of Humic Substances with Organic Pollutants and its Influence on the Concentration of these Pollutants from Water

Abstract

The influence of fulvic acids (FAs) and humic acids (HAs) of different origin on liquid-liquid and solid-phase extraction of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) with broadly varying values of octanol-water partition coefficients K_ow has been investigated. It is shown that the solubilization by dissolved FAs and HAs can lead to a significant decrease in recovery of some HOCs even from very dilute (10–20 mg/l) aqueous solutions of these acids. The results of these investigations and an analysis of the relevant literature data, demonstrate that the extent of solubilization of HOCs by humic substances is determined not only by K_ow, but also by the specific structure of the HOCs. The hypothesis of the formation of intramolecular micelles (IMMs) by unaggregated FAs and HAs, and the partition of HOCs between water and the IMMs is put forward to explain the solubilization of HOCs.     

Hydration of humic and fulvic acids studied by DSC

Qualitative and quantitative aspects of hydration of four humic acids (HA) and three fulvic acids (FA) originating from different sources were investigated. DSC experiments at subambient temperatures were carried out in order to monitor differences in ice behavior originating from freezable water surrounding humic molecules. It was found that kinetic effects play a significant role in hydration processes of both HA and FA. In fact, the hydration took part over 21?days which was detected as a progressive decrease in ice melting enthalpy. Simultaneously, the peak shapes and positions changed indicating structural changes in the physical structure of the humic substances. In case of FA, the dependency of melting enthalpy on water concentration showed a linear trend resembling a complete hydration previously observed for water-soluble hydrophilic polymers. In contrast, the melting enthalpy of some HA increased in a step-like way with increasing water content, suggesting preservation of original hydrophobic scaffold during the hydration. The differences between the rather young FA and the rather old HA lead to the conclusion that water can play a significant role in processes of humification. We assume that separation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains and thus increase in nanoscale heterogeneity represents an important physical contribution to the overall humification process. It was also demonstrated that the higher content of oxygen in humic molecules is not the only indicator of higher water holding capacity. Instead the porosity of humic matrix seems to contribute as additional parameter into these processes.     

Sensitive determination of dissolved tryptophan in freshwater by alkaline hydrolysis and HPLC.

A sensitive method involving alkaline hydrolysis and HPLC analysis has been developed to detect nanomolar levels of tryptophan dissolved in freshwater. The procedure includes 1) alkaline hydrolysis with nitrogen atmosphere in Teflon-lined Pyrex tubes with 4.2 M sodium hydroxide at 110 degrees C for 16 h, in which ascorbic acid was used as an antioxidant; 2) a determination step, in which tryptophan was separated efficiently from other amino acids by HPLC and measured by fluorescence. The mean recovery for tryptophan standard was 91.4% with an RSD of 3.3%. Using this method, dissolved tryptophan concentrations ranged from 10.91 to 41.83 nM in water samples from Lake Biwa, Japan.     

光化学降解溶解有机物及其对生物过程的影响

溶解有机物对控制海洋和淡水水生系统的化学、生物和物理特性有重要的影响.光化学降解溶解有机物改变了生态体系的溶解有机碳、有机物的分子量及光学特性,并且产生复杂的反应性氧化合物、二氧化碳、一氧化碳、小分子量的有机酸、氨基酸、二硫化碳等,对生物过程有重要的影响.本文简要综述了光化学降解溶解有机物的过程机理及其对生物过程的影响.     

Role of Neutral Fraction of Dissolved Organic Matter in the Migration of Metals in Surface Waters: II. Neutral Metal Complexes in Water Bodies of Different Types

The results of long-term studies on the contents and seasonal dynamics of neutral carbohydrate metal complexes in the surface water bodies of different types (lakes, rivers, reservoirs) are summarized. It is established that the weight fraction of the mentioned complexes characteristically varies significantly depending on the type of the water body and the component composition of dissolved organic substances. In water bodies with a highly colored water, the relative contents of dissolved metals in neutral complexes are low due to their preferential binding to anionic complexes with humic substances. In small eutrophic water bodies with a relatively low content of humic substances, the carbohydrate concentrations are the highest and, accordingly, the weight fractions of metals in their neutral complexes is also very noticeable. The molecular weight distributions of neutral metal complexes are discussed. The neutral complexes with the molecular weight ≤5.0 kDa form a significant part of metals associated with carbohydrates. The seasonal dynamics of these metal complexes are discussed.