Spatial distribution and partition of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in rivers of the Pearl River Delta, southern China

Baolin Liu; Hong Zhang; Liuwei Xie; Juying Li; Xinxuan Wang; Liang Zhao; Yanping Wang; Bo Yang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.004

Spatial distribution and partition of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in rivers of the Pearl River Delta, southern China

Sci Total Environ. 2015 Aug 15:524-525:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.004. Epub 2015 Apr 15.

Authors

Baolin Liu¹, Hong Zhang², Liuwei Xie³, Juying Li⁴, Xinxuan Wang⁵, Liang Zhao³, Yanping Wang⁵, Bo Yang⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Physical Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; College of Chemistry, Changchun Normal University, Changchun 130032, China; College of Food Engineering and Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300222, China.
² College of Physical Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China. Electronic address: zhangh@szu.edu.cn.
³ College of Physical Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
⁴ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
⁵ College of Food Engineering and Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300222, China.

PMID: 25889539
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.004

Abstract

This study investigated the occurrence of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in surface water from 67 sampling sites along rivers of the Pearl River Delta in southern China. Sixteen PFAAs, including perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs, C5-14, C16 and C18) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs, C4, C6, C8 and C10) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography-negative electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS/MS). Total PFAA concentrations (∑ PFAAs) in the surface water ranged from 1.53 to 33.5 ng·L(-1) with an average of 7.58 ng·L(-1). Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were the three most abundant PFAAs and on average accounted for 28%, 16% and 10% of ∑ PFAAs, respectively. Higher concentrations of ∑ PFAAs were found in the samples collected from Jiangmen section of Xijiang River, Dongguan section of Dongjiang River and the Pearl River flowing the cities which had very well-developed manufacturing industries. PCA model was employed to quantitatively calculate the contributions of extracted sources. Factor 1 (72.48% of the total variance) had high loading for perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), PFBS and PFOS. For factor 2 (10.93% of the total variance), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUdA) got high loading. The sorption of PFCAs on suspended particulate matter (SPM) increased by approximately 0.1 log units for each additional CF2 moiety and that on sediment was approximately 0.8 log units lower than the SPM logKd values. In addition, the differences in the partition coefficients were influenced by the structure discrepancy of absorbents and influx of fresh river water. These data are essential for modeling the transport and environmental fate of PFAAs.

Keywords: K(d); K(oc); Perfluoroalkyl acids; Source appointment; The Pearl River Delta.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Alkanesulfonic Acids / analysis
Caproates / analysis
Caprylates / analysis
China
Environmental Monitoring*
Fluorocarbons / analysis*
Rivers / chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Alkanesulfonic Acids
Caproates
Caprylates
Fluorocarbons
Water Pollutants, Chemical
perfluorooctanoic acid
perfluorooctane sulfonic acid
perfluorobutane
perfluorohexanoic acid