Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sewage Sludge from Cluj-Napoca Wastewater Treatment Plant (original) (raw)

Comparison of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Levels in Sludges from Municipal and Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plants

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2010

This study was carried out to investigate the concentrations and potential sources of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sludge of 14 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Sludge samples were collected from 2 municipal WWTPs, 11 industrial WWTPs, and 1 sanitary landfill leachate treatment plant within the city of Bursa, Turkey during the summer of 2008. Ultrasonication was applied for extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was used to analyze the PAH contents of the samples. Twelve of the 16 EPA-listed PAH compounds were determined. Total PAH concentrations (∑12 PAHs) determined in all of the sludge samples ranged from 1,781 to 19,866 μg/kg dry matter (dm). The sum of 8 of the 11 EU PAHs varied between 1,481 and 17,314 μg/kg dm, and 3 of the samples exceeded the proposed EU limit for land application. One of the automotive industry sludges contained the highest level of PAHs, followed by one of the municipal sludges. The average sum of 5- and 6-ring PAH compounds in all of the sludge samples amounted to almost 65% of the total PAHs. The diagnostic ratios of specific PAHs were calculated to determine the dominant sources for the PAHs in the sludge samples.

Validation of various extraction techniques for the quantitative analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sewage sludges using gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry

Journal of Chromatography A, 2005

A new GC-ion trap MS method has been developed for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sewage sludge samples. The sludge samples were extracted with Soxhlet, Soxtec, and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) using 1:1 (v/v) dichloromethane (DCM):n-hexane solvent mixture. A multi-layer clean-up (silica/Al 2 O 3) column were used, followed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) to eliminate the interfering organic compound as well as the lipids. The extracts were quantified with GC-EI-SIS and GC-EI-MS-MS. The method was successfully applied to determine the concentration of PAHs present in sewage sludge samples collected from four waste water treatment plants (WWTPs). The method recovery values varied from 61.5 to 90.5%, 65.0 to 91.8% and 60.0 to 93.4% for Soxtec extraction, Soxhlet extraction and PLE extraction, respectively. The total concentrations of the 16 PAHs in the sewage sludge samples were found to vary from 1.56 to 6.18 mg/kg. The concentration of PAHs in WWTPs did not significantly vary.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in waste waters and sewage sludge: Extraction and clean-up for HPLC analysis with fluorescence detection

Chromatographia, 1996

A modified solid-phase extraction technique using sonication of the adsorbent material instead of the elution normally applied has been compared with two conventional liquid-liquid extraction procedures for the determination of the 16 EPA PAHs in municipal waste waters by means of HPLC coupled with fluorescence detection. Liquid-liquid extraction with cyclohexane proved to be the most efficient and simplest procedure. Clean-up of the waste-water extracts was not considered necessary, because of the high chromatographic resolution of the column and the selectivity of the fluorescence detector. Different organic solvents were also compared for ultrasonic extraction of PAHs from sewage sludge. The best results were obtained by use of acetonitrile. Clean-up of sewage-sludge extracts was not found necessary for accurate quantification of the major PAH components with fluorescence detection. The precision of the whole analytical procedure from extraction to the final determination of PAHs was satisfactory for both waste-water and sewage-sludge samples.

Determination of sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous and solid samples from an Italian wastewater treatment plant

Journal of Chromatography A, 2006

A robust procedure for the determination of 16 US EPA PAHs in both aqueous (e.g. wastewaters, industrial discharges, treated effluents) and solid samples (e.g. suspended solids and sludge) from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is presented. Recovery experiments using different percentages of organic modifier, sorbents and eluting solvent mixtures were carried out in Milli-Q water (1000 mL) spiked with a mixture of the PAH analytes (100 ng/L of each analyte). The solid phase extraction (SPE) procedures applied to spiked waste water samples (1000 mL; 100 ng/L spiking level) permitted simultaneous recovery of all the 16 PAHs with yields >70% (6-13% RSD). SPE clean up procedures applied to sewage and stabilized sludge extracts, showed percent recoveries in the range 73-92% (7-13% RSD) and 71-89% (7-12% RSD) respectively. The methods were used for the determination of PAHs in aqueous and solid samples from the WWTP of Fusina (Venice, Italy). Mean concentrations, as the sum of the 16 PAHs in aqueous and suspended solid samples, were found to be approx. in the 1.12-4.62 µg/L range. Sewage and stabilized sludge samples contained mean PAH concentrations, as sum of 16 compounds, in the concentration range of 1.44-1.26 mg/kg, respectively. Extraction and clean up procedures for sludge samples were validated using EPA certified reference material IRM-104 (CRM No.912). Instrumental analyses were performed by coupling HPLC with UV-diode array detection (UV-DAD) and fluorescence detection (FLD).

Development of extraction procedures for the analysis of polycy aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides in municipal sewage sludge

2004

Land application of sludge as fertilizers is a way of disposal and recycling of sludge. However, public concern has arisen due to the fact that organic contaminants in sludge may ultimately enter the food chain. Hence the need arises to analyse the organic contaminants such as PAHs and OCPs in sludge. In this study, Soxhlet was utilised as the extraction method and the extracts subjected to extensive cleanup via either silica columns or solid phase extraction cartridges prior to analysis using gas chromatography or high performance liquid chromatography. Sludge samples were collected from the drying beds of oxidation ponds in three locations in South Johore. OCPs such as heptachlor, dieldrin and pp-DDT were detected in low amounts (52-159 mg/kg) whereas PAHs such as naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene were detected in the range of 0.2-5.5 mg/kg dry mass. Subcritical water extraction (SWE) recovery studies of PAHs were also performed from spiked sludge samples. Although a recovery range of 41-68% was obtained using the SWE method, the results indicated the usefulness of the technique as an alternative to Soxhlet extraction for the analysis of PAHs in sludge samples.

Validation of HPLC method for determination of priority polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons (PAHS) in waste water and sediments

Advances in Applied Science Research, 2014

A simple method of extraction and determination of sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from waste water and sediment using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been validated with limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ), method recovery and reproducibility and other factors. HPLC parameters, such as mobile phase composition and flow standardized for determination of PAHs using ultra violetdiode array detector (UV-DAD). PAH extraction was carried out by liquid-liquid and Ultrasonication using dichloromethane and acetone/hexane solvents for water and sediment, respectively. Silica gel column chromatography was carried out for extract clean-up. Linearity of calibration curves was good for all sixteen PAH (R 2 , 0.991-0.996) in the concentration range 2.5-300 ppb. Analysis of standard spiked water and sediment samples resulted in good recoveries between 78-100 % and 82-106 %, respectively. The estimated LOD and LOQ ranged between 0.01-0.51 ppb and 0.03-1.71 ppb, respectively. The method described has been used for determination of the sixteen PAHs contents in water and sediment samples collected from municipal drains.

The Concentration of Mild-Extracted Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sewage Sludges

Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A- Toxic/Hazardous Substances & Environmental Engineering, 2004

The present study evaluates the content of the mild-solvent extracted fraction of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Ten compounds from the US EPA list (phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, chryzene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[ghi]perylene oraz indeno[1,2,3cd]pyrene) were chosen. The compounds were extracted with n-butanol from 11 sewage sludges that differed both in the total PAH content and in their physicochemical properties. On the basis of the results obtained, the influence of the properties of the PAH and some properties of selected sludge on the content of the mild-solvent extracted fractions of these compounds was determined. The content of the fraction extracted with n-butanol within the total of 10 PAHs ranged from 12.5 to 83.2% (mean 40.1%) depending on the type of sludge. Similarly, as in the case of the total of the 10 PAHs, significant differences in the content of PAHs extracted with n-butanol were also noted for the individual compounds studied. In the case of most individual PAHs their mean share did not differ statistically in relation to the PAH type and was close to 40%. An evaluation of the relation between the share of the fraction extracted with n-butanol from the different types of sludge and the properties of the PAHs showed that statistically, there existed significant (P < 0.05) correlations between log K oc (in the case of one sewage sludge) and between the nitrogen content, ORDER REPRINTS the ratio of C/N, cations Mg 2þ and K þ (in the case of a few PAHs). A clear and significant relation was found between the content of and the share of the fraction of n-butanol extracted and the PAH fraction present in the sewage sludge pore water (determined on the basis of an equilibrium partition model).

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels in sludges from wastewater treatment plants in Bursa

Sigma Journal of Engineering and Natural Sciences, 2011

Disused creosote-treated railway ties are reused in France and many other countries and, in particular, for landscaping and other residential uses. Given the lack of data on the environmental fate of creosote-derived compounds released from used railway ties, a survey of different environmental media (i.e. soil, sediment, surface water, plants and outdoor air) was carried out at six sites located in France where old creosote-treated railway ties are stored or reused for different purposes. Maximum total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations measured in soils ranged from 2 to 140 mg/kg dry weight. PAH impacts were limited both vertically and horizontally to several centimetres from the railway ties. At two sites, PAH levels in plants (up to 140 μg/kg fresh weight) appeared correlated to the levels measured in soils, suggesting a transfer from soils to the plants. PAHs in sediment were measured at concentrations of up to 280 mg/kg dry weight. As observed in soil, PAH concentrations decreased rapidly further away from the railway ties. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering on principal components indicate that PAHs detected in soils and sediments originated from unweathered to severely weathered creosote and could be strongly influenced by urban background. Results on outdoor air measurements show a degradation of air quality above old and fresh railway tie storage areas at a railway station and to a lesser extent in their vicinity. However, this degradation was low to moderate when compared to French regulatory values, ambient background levels reported in France, as well as health-based air comparison values.