Caiyun Sun: School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology, NO. 45 Chengde Street, Jilin, 132022, People's Republic of China.
Liang Xu: School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology, NO. 45 Chengde Street, Jilin, 132022, People's Republic of China. xlsdydnl@126.com.
Dazhi Sun: School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology, NO. 45 Chengde Street, Jilin, 132022, People's Republic of China. sundazhi@jlict.edu.cn.
Libo Chen: School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology, NO. 45 Chengde Street, Jilin, 132022, People's Republic of China.
Jiying Zou: School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology, NO. 45 Chengde Street, Jilin, 132022, People's Republic of China.
Zhenxing Zhang: Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, and Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China.
This case study investigated the distribution and fate of organic pollutants in aquatic environments based on laboratory experiments and modeling. Pyrene (Pyr) is a hydrocarbon pollutant with adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health, and was thus selected for this case study. The movement of Pyr was primarily influenced by its sorption from water onto sediment, and its desorption from sediment into water. Its elimination was mainly via biodegradation by microorganisms in sediment and by volatilization from water into air. The transport and elimination rates for Pyr were considerably influenced by temperature and moisture. Results of modeling with Markov chains revealed that the elimination of Pyr from water/sediment systems was the most rapid under wet conditions. Under average conditions, a Pyr concentration of 100 μg/L of in water in such a system declined to a negligible level over 250 h. Under wet conditions, this decrease occurred over 120 h. Finally, under dry conditions, it took 550 h to achieve the same degree of elimination.
References
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2014 Feb;21(4):3166-74
[PMID: 24217970]
