Adsorption and environmental behavior of mercury on the sediment from the Yellow Sea of China

Jing Wang; Lufeng Chen; Yue Song; Yanbin Li; Guangliang Liu; Yongguang Yin; Yong Cai

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130333

Adsorption and environmental behavior of mercury on the sediment from the Yellow Sea of China

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Feb 5;443(Pt B):130333. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130333. Epub 2022 Nov 5.

Authors

Jing Wang¹, Lufeng Chen², Yue Song³, Yanbin Li⁴, Guangliang Liu⁵, Yongguang Yin⁶, Yong Cai⁷

Affiliations

¹ Shandong Key Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Health, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China.
² Hubei Key Laboratory of Environmental and Health Effects of Persistent Toxic Substances, School of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China.
³ Shandong Key Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Health, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China. Electronic address: yuesong@sdu.edu.cn.
⁴ Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, and Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China. Electronic address: liyanbin@ouc.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, United States.
⁶ Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
⁷ Shandong Key Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Health, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, United States.

PMID: 36372026
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130333

Abstract

The Yellow Sea (YS) of China is facing severe mercury (Hg) pollution problems while the concentration of Hg in the sediment is relatively low compared to its high discharge intensity, whose mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we performed batch experiments to investigate the Hg adsorption capacity of the YS sediments. Freundlich isothermal adsorption simulation results showed that the parameters K_F (adsorption capacity constant) of the sediments were varied from 3.33 to 2.88 × 10⁴. Correlation analysis of K_F against the physicochemical properties and sequential extraction revealed that organic matter (OM) and particle size influenced the K_F for Hg. In addition, the calculated smaller Kd (distribution coefficient) values in the YS compared to other coastal seas indicate that at the sediment-water interface, Hg tends to be more present in porewater. There is also a significant positive correlation between K_F and Kd. We conclude that the low OM content of YS sediments is one of the main reasons for their weak adsorption capacity. These findings provide a scientific basis for the phenomenon that Hg entering the YS undergoes environmental behaviors to maintain low concentrations in the sediment, deepen the understanding of Hg cycling in the YS and improve long-term risk prediction capacity for Hg in marine environments.

Keywords: Adsorption; Mercury; Sediment; Yellow Sea.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adsorption
China
Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments / chemistry
Mercury* / analysis
Water / analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / chemistry

Substances

Mercury
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Water