scholarly journals The Impact of Organic Matter on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Availability and Persistence in Soils

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Ukalska-Jaruga ◽  
Bożena Smreczak

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exhibit persistence in soils, and most of them are potentially mutagenic/carcinogenic and teratogenic for human beings but also influence the growth and development of soil organisms. The PAHs emitted into the atmosphere are ultimately deposited (by dry or wet deposition processes) onto the soil surface where they tend to accumulate. Soil organic matter (SOM) plays an important role in the fate and transformation processes of PAHs, affecting their mobility, availability, and persistence. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the influence of SOM fractional diversification (fulvic acids—FA, humic acids—HA, and humins—HN) on PAH availability and persistence in soils. Twenty soil samples (n = 20) were collected from upper horizons (0–30 cm) of agricultural soils exposed to anthropogenic emissions from industrial and domestic sources. The assessment of PAH concentrations included the determination of medium-molecular-weight compounds from the US EPA list: fluoranthene—FLA, pyrene—PYR, benz(a)anthracene—BaA, and chrysene—CHR. The assessment was conducted using the GC-MS/MS technique. Three operationally defined fractions were investigated: total extractable PAHs (TE-PAHs) fraction, available/bioavailable PAHs (PB-PAHs) fraction, and nonavailable/residual PAHs (RE-PAHs) fraction, which was calculated as the difference between total and available PAHs. TE-PAHs were analyzed by dichloromethane extraction, while PB-PAHs were analyzed with a hydrophobic β-cyclodextrin solution. SOM was characterized by total organic carbon content (Turin method) and organic carbon of humic substances including FA, HA, HN (IHSS method). Concentrations of PAHs differed between soils from 193.5 to 3169.5 µg kg−1, 4.3 to 226.4 µg kg−1, and 148.6 to 3164.7 µg kg−1 for ∑4 TE-PAHs, ∑4 PB-PAHs, and ∑4 RE-PAHs, respectively. The ∑4 PB-PAHs fraction did not exceed 30% of ∑4 TE-PAHs. FLA was the most strongly bound in soil (highest content of RE-FLA), whereas PYR was the most available (highest content of PB-PYR). The soils were characterized by diversified total organic carbon (TOC) concentration (8.0–130.0 g kg−1) and individual SOM fractions (FA = 0.4–7.5 g kg−1, HA = 0.6–13.0 g kg−1, HN = 0.9–122.9 g kg−1). FA and HA as the labile fraction of SOM with short turnover time strongly positively influenced the potential ∑4 PAH availability (r = 0.56 and r = 0.52 for FA and HA, respectively). HN, which constitutes a stable fraction of organic matter with high hydrophobicity and poor degradability, was strongly correlated with ∑4 RE-PAHs (r = 0.75), affecting their persistence in soil.

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1157-1171
Author(s):  
Agostinho Mussa ◽  
Deolinda Flores ◽  
Joana Ribeiro ◽  
Ana MP Mizusaki ◽  
Mónica Chamussa ◽  
...  

The Mozambique Basin, which occurs onshore and offshore in the central and southern parts of Mozambique, contains a thick sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks that range in age from the Jurassic to Cenozoic. This basin, along with the Rovuma basin to the north, has been the main target for hydrocarbon exploration; however, published data on hydrocarbon occurrences do not exist. In this context, the present study aims to contribute to the understanding of the nature of the organic matter of a sedimentary sequence intercepted by the Nemo-1X exploration well located in the offshore area of the Mozambique Basin. The well reached a depth of 4127 m, and 33 samples were collected from a depth of 2219–3676 m ranging in age from early to Late Cretaceous. In this study, petrographic and geochemical analytical methods were applied to assess the level of vitrinite reflectance and the organic matter type as well as the total organic carbon, total sulfur, and CaCO3 contents. The results show that the total organic carbon content ranges from 0.41 to 1.34 wt%, with the highest values determined in the samples from the Lower Domo Shale and Sena Formations, which may be related to the presence of the solid bitumens that occur in the carbonate fraction of those samples. The vitrinite random reflectances range from 0.65 to 0.86%Rrandom, suggesting that the organic matter in all of the samples is in the peak phase of the “oil generation window” (0.65–0.9%Rrandom). The organic matter is mainly composed of vitrinite and inertinite macerals, with a minor contribution of sporinite from the liptinite group, which is typical of kerogen type III. Although all of the samples have vitrinite reflectances corresponding to the oil window, the formation of liquid hydrocarbons is rather limited because the organic matter is dominated by gas-prone kerogen type III.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majid Mahmoodabadi ◽  
Elina Heydarpour

Abstract Soil organic carbon is one of the most important soil components, which acts as a sink for atmospheric CO2. This study focuses on the effect of different methods of organic matter application on the soil organic carbon sequestration in a 4-month experiment under controlled greenhouse conditions. Three rates of straw residue and farmyard manure were added to uncultivated and cropland soils. Two treatments of straw residue and farmyard manure incorporation were used into: a soil surface layer and 0-20 cm soil depth. The result showed that the application of organic matter, especially the farmyard manure incorporation led to a significant increase in the final soil organic carbon content. Higher amounts of soil organic carbon were stored in the cropland soil than in the uncultivated soil. On average, the soil surface layer treatment caused a higher sequestration of soil organic carbon compared to the whole soil depth treatment. If higher rates of organic matter were added to the soils, lower carbon sequestration was observed and vice versa. The result indicated that the carbon sequestration ranged farmyardmanure > strawresidue and cropland soil > uncultivated soil. The findings of this research revealed the necessity of paying more attention to the role of organic residue management in carbon sequestration and prevention of increasing global warming.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1295-1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Guo ◽  
Weijun Shen ◽  
Shangwen Zhou ◽  
Huaqing Xue ◽  
Dexun Liu ◽  
...  

Shales in the Well district of Yu 106 of the Shanxi Formation in the Eastern Ordos Basin is deposited in the swamp between delta plains, distributary river channels, natural levee, the far end of crevasse splay, and depression environments. According to organic geochemistry, reservoir physical property, gas bearing capacity, lithology experimental analysis, combined with the data of drilling, logging, testing and sedimentary facies, the reservoir conditions of shale gas and the distribution of an advantageous area in Shanxi Formation have been conducted. The results show that the total organic carbon content of the Shanxi Formation is relatively high, with an average content value of 5.28% in the segment 2 and 3.02% in segment 1, and the organic matter is mainly kerogen type II2 and III. The maturity of organic matter is high with 1.89% as the average value of Ro which indicates the superior condition for gas generation of this reservoir. The porosity of shales is 1.7% on average, and the average permeability is 0.0415 × 10−3 µm2. The cumulative thickness is relatively large, with an average of 75 m. Brittle mineral and clay content in shales are 49.9% and 50.1%, respectively, but the burial depth of shale is less than 3000 m. The testing gas content is relatively high (0.64 × 104 m3/d), which shows a great potential in commercial development. The total organic carbon of the segment 2 is higher than that of the segment 1, and it is also better than segment 1 in terms of gas content. Based on the thickness of shale and the distribution of sedimentary facies, it is predicted that the advantageous area of shale gas in the segment 2 is distributed in a striped zone along the northeast and the northsouth direction, which is controlled by the swamp microfacies between distributary river channels.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 9341-9378
Author(s):  
E. Gourdin ◽  
S. Huon ◽  
O. Evrard ◽  
O. Ribolzi ◽  
T. Bariac ◽  
...  

Abstract. Tropical rivers of Southeast Asia are characterized by high specific carbon yields and supplies to the ocean. The origin and dynamics of particulate organic matter were studied in the Houay Xon River catchment located in northern Laos during the first erosive flood of the rainy season in May 2012. The partly cultivated catchment is equipped with three successive gauging stations draining areas ranging between 0.2 and 11.6 km2 on the main stem of the permanent stream, and two additional stations draining 0.6 ha hillslopes. In addition, the sequential monitoring of rainwater, overland flow and suspended organic matter compositions was realized at 1 m2 plot scale during a single storm. The composition of particulate organic matter (total organic carbon, total nitrogen, δ13C and δ15N) was determined for suspended sediment, soil surface and subsurface samples collected in the catchment (n = 57, 65 and 11 respectively). Hydrograph separation of event water was conducted using water electric conductivity and δ18O data measured for rainfall, overland flow and river water base flow (n = 9, 30 and 57, respectively). The composition of particulate organic matter indicates that upstream suspended sediments were mainly derived from cultivated soils labelled by their C3 vegetation cover (upland rice, fallow vegetation and teak plantations) but that collapsed riverbanks, characterized by C4 vegetation occurrence (Napier grass), significantly contributed to sediment yields during water level rise and at the downstream station. The highest runoff coefficient (11.7%), sediment specific yield (433 kg ha−1), total organic carbon specific yield (8.3 kg C ha−1) and overland flow contribution (78–100%) were found for the reforested areas covered by teak plantations. Total organic carbon specific yields were up to 2.6-fold higher (at downstream station) than the annual ones calculated 10 years earlier, before the expansion of teak plantations in the catchment. They may be attributed both to the sampling period at the onset of the rainy season (following field clearing by slash and burn) and to the impact of land use change during the past decade.


2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-237
Author(s):  
Renata Rauch ◽  
Rita Foldenyi

It is not only Total Organic Carbon content (TOC) but also the type of Organic Matter (OM) that the sorption of organic pollutants by soils or other natural absorbents is correlated with. Therefore, the characterization of organic components in the adsorbents is very important to elucidate sorption mechanisms.Oil shale samples were collected in Pula, Hungary. The TOC content of the investigated samples was approximately 6.8-40.1 m/m %. The characterization of the organic matter in samples was carried out by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), elemental analysis, thermal analysis, and GC-MS technics. The results predominantly indicated the presence of a low degree of the branching of aliphatic chain components in the samples. The Humic Substances (HS) content of the samples was only 1-6 m/m %, which could be determined after the treatment of oil shale with hydrogen peroxide.The influence of the amount and type of organic material in oil shale samples was studied on the adsorption of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) as a model contaminant. For this aim a series of batch equilibration experiments was carried out. The results show that the total organic carbon content of samples is a strong indicator of 2,4-DCP adsorption, while the HS content is an important feature controlling sorption capacity. The study suggests that the special organic matter (kerogen) content of the oil shale plays a major role in its high adsorption capacity and in the nonlinearity of the isotherms. The HS covering the surface could decrease the sorption capacities despite the fact that though the amount of this organic material is quite low.


Soil Research ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 1109 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Harper ◽  
RJ Gilkes

The incidence and severity of water repellency was related to five soil class (FC I-V), based on the field texture and dry consistence of the soil surface horizons, derived from a soil survey near Jerramungup, Western Australia. Water repellency was most severe on the FC I soils (median clay content 1.5%), with 66% of samples having water repellency based on the water drop penetration time (WDPT) test >10 s. Corresponding values for the FC II and III soils (2.5%, 4.0% clay) were 37% and 20%. Water repellency did not occur on the most clayey FC IV (8.1% clay) and FC V (22.1% clay) soils. Following stratification of Ap horizon soils by 1% increments of clay content, highly significant linear relationships occurred between log [water drop penetration time (WDPT)] and log [organic carbon (OC)] for the 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4% clay classes, these respectively explaining 50, 35 and 37% of the variation in water repellency. The role of organic carbon in promoting water repellency decreases markedly with increasing clay content, with WDPT being proportional to OC4.5, OC3.9 and OC3.0 for each of these clay classes. A multivariate relationship using measures of amorphous iron, clay and organic matter explained 63% of the variation in water repellency, and this multivariate dependency provides an explanation of the poor bivariate relationships between either clay or organic carbon content and water repellency reported in previous studies. There is a strong geomorphic control of the clay content in the soil surface horizons. Given the effect that clay content has on water repellency, the susceptibility of soils to water repellency can be mapped across farms, with the actual expression of water repellency depending on soil organic matter content, and hence land use. Such discrimination will allow the prediction of water erosion hazard and identify soils requiring ameliorative treatments.


GeoArabia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed H. Hakimi ◽  
Wan H. Abdullah ◽  
Mohamed R. Shalaby

ABSTRACT In this paper, organic matter content, type and maturity as well as some petrographic characteristics of the Jurassic shales exposed in the Masila Basin were evaluated and their depositional environments were interpreted using organic geochemical and organic petrological studies. The total organic carbon (TOC) contents of shales in the Sunah, Wadi Taribah, and Kharir fields vary between 2.4% and 4.7% with high Hydrogen Index (HI) values. All shale samples display very low Oxygen Index (OI) values. The Sunah and Wadi Taribah shales contain Type II organic matter, while the Kharir shales contain Type II, with minor contributions from Type I organic matter. Tmax values for the shales range from 428 °C to 438 °C and vitrinite reflectance values (%Ro) range from 0.52% to 0.80%. These values reveal that the Sunah and Kharir shales are at peak mature stage while the Wadi Taribah shales are early mature. This is supported by their biomarker maturity parameters. The pristane/phytane (Pr/Ph) ratios range from 1.8 to 2.3. In addition, all shales show a homohopane distribution which is dominated by low carbon numbers, and C35 homohopane index is very low for all shale samples. All these features may indicate that these shales were deposited in a suboxic environment. Sterane distribution was calculated as C27>C29>C28 from the m/z 217 mass chromatogram for all shale samples. The Sunah, Wadi Taribah and Kharir shales are believed to have good oil generating potential. This is supported by high total organic carbon content, hydrogen indices up to 400 mg HC/g TOC and early to peak mature oil window range.


2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (2A) ◽  
pp. 60-74
Author(s):  
Arwa M. S. Al-Dolaimy

A total of 56 cuttings samples of Sargelu and Kurrachine formations from different wells (Ain Zalah, Baiji, and Jabal Kand) in northern Iraq have been investigated in this study. Both the Sargelu and Kurrachine formations were examined using Rock-Eval pyrolysis to assess the richness of organic matter and thermal maturity level. The Sargelu Formation Have Total Organic Carbon wt.% ranged from 0.22–2.52 wt.%, average 1.26 wt.% in Ain Zalah Well, and between 0.57–8.90 wt.%, average 2.95 wt.% in Baiji Well, and between 0.81–11.80 wt.%, average 5.01wt.% in for Kand Well. It is considered a potential source rock based on total organic carbon content. total organic carbon wt. % in Ain Zalah and Kand in the Kurrachine Formation is considered poor source rock with a total organic carbon content of 0.17, 0.39 wt. %, respectively, while in Baiji Well is considered moderate source rock with total organic carbon content 0.53 wt. %. The Rock-Eval data are not always sufficient to define the kind of organic matter through the use of the van Krevelen diagram because HI and OI are affected by both matrix mineralogy and the kerogen mixture. For accurate assessments of the source rocks, gas chromatography has been relied on, which provides a direct indication of the kerogen type as well as the type of hydrocarbons that kerogen can generate during maturity. Gas chromatography analysis indicates that all selected samples contained type II kerogen. The highest value of the TAS/ (MAS+TAS) ratio was found in Ain Zalah samples (Sargelu Formation), and this result indicates the occurrence of an aromatization process with increasing thermal maturation.


Soil Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kegan K. Farrick ◽  
Zakiya Akweli ◽  
Mark N. Wuddivira

Soil water repellency is a major concern in many systems as it substantially reduces infiltration and enhances surface runoff. While it is recognised that repellency is affected by the soil organic matter in natural ecosystems, the impact of manure and compost additions on the development and persistence of repellency in agroecosystems, particularly in the tropics, is poorly understood. We therefore examined the impact of different manure, compost additions and temperature on soil water repellency of tropical soils. We monitored the change in repellency in a Cambisol (Talparo – clay loam), Acrisol (Piarco – silt loam) and Arenosol (Arena – loamy sand), amended with three different manure and compost combinations at three different concentrations and four temperatures. Water repellency was the strongest among soils with higher clay content, which was likely due to the higher levels of organic matter observed in the clay loam. The cattle manure produced the most severe repellency despite having the lowest total organic carbon, whereas the sugarcane bagasse produced the lowest repellency. The increases in temperature had the strongest influence on repellency in sandy soils. Our results strongly support the findings of other studies that the quality of the organic material is more important than the total organic carbon in controlling the severity of repellency. This exploratory work also highlighted the importance of plant compost in reducing the level of repellency caused by cattle manure while still having a positive influence on the nutrient status of soils.


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