Seasonal antimony pollution caused by high mobility of antimony in sediments: In situ evidence and mechanical interpretation

Mingyi Ren; Shiming Ding; Zhen Fu; Liyuan Yang; Wanying Tang; Daniel C W Tsang; Dan Wang; Yan Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.12.101

Seasonal antimony pollution caused by high mobility of antimony in sediments: In situ evidence and mechanical interpretation

J Hazard Mater. 2019 Apr 5:367:427-436. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.12.101. Epub 2018 Dec 27.

Authors

Mingyi Ren¹, Shiming Ding², Zhen Fu³, Liyuan Yang⁴, Wanying Tang³, Daniel C W Tsang⁵, Dan Wang⁶, Yan Wang⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China. Electronic address: smding@niglas.ac.cn.
³ Nanjing University of Science and Technology, 200 Xiaolingwei Road, 210094 Nanjing, China.
⁴ School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁶ Shanghai Waterway Engineering Design and Consulting Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200120, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Nanjing EasySensor Environmental Technology Co., Ltd, Nanjing 210018, China.

PMID: 30611035
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.12.101

Abstract

Antimony (Sb) mobilization in sediments and its impact on water quality remained to be studied. In this study, high-resolution dialysis (HR-Peeper) and diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique were used to measure soluble Sb and labile Sb in sediment-overlying water profiles for a full year in a eutrophic region of Lake Taihu. Results showed that the highest mean concentrations of soluble Sb in overlying water (11.27 and 6.99 μg/L) appeared in December 2016 and January 2017, due to oxidation of Sb(III) to Sb(V) by Mn and Fe oxides, all of which exceeded the surface or drinking water limits set by China, United States and European Union. From April to November 2016, the concentrations of soluble Sb remained low with small monthly fluctuations and mean values ranging from 1.79 to 2.93 μg/L. This was attributed to the predominance of insoluble Sb(III) in sediments under anoxic conditions. The concentration of soluble Sb was slightly higher in summer than in autumn, due to the complexation of Sb(III) with DOM, as shown under anaerobic incubation. The mobility of inorganic Sb in sediments was mostly determined by the transition between Sb(III) and Sb(V), with Sb pollution in bottom water during winter being of concern.

Keywords: Algal blooms; Antimony transformation; Eutrophication; High-resolution sampling; Sediment redox.

Publication types

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