Fractionation of heavy metals in runoff and discharge of a stormwater management system and its implications for treatment

A stormwater management system utilizing the mechanisms of sedimentation and filtration/infiltration was developed and constructed for the immobilization of suspended solids and heavy metal constituents （Fe, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cu, Cd, Ni） in runoff. Monitoring took place between May 2010 and November 2012 on a total of 24 storm events. This research on the fractionation of heavy metals in runoff and discharge of a stormwater system provided insight on the actual efficiency of the system and determined the implications for treatment of the particulate-bound and dissolved heavy metals in runoff. Results revealed that the partitioning of heavy metal load in runoff in either dissolved or particulate-bound were influenced by flow rate and total suspended solids load, and evident in high-intensity storm （rainfall-runoff event）. On the other hand, the partitioning of heavy metal load discharge from the stormwater system was more apparent during the early period of discharge having higher variability in dissolved than particulate-bound heavy metal. Findings revealed that fractionation of heavy metals played an important role in the performance of the stormwater system; thus, must be considered in designing stormwater systems. For the stormwater system to be effective, it is recommended to design the system treating not only the early period of a storm （first flush criteria） rather until the peak part of the hydrograph （high flow rate where partitioning was greatest） from a load basis.     

Phytoremediation of urban wastewater by model wetlands with ornamental hydrophytes

Phytoremediation offers a cost-effective,non-intrusive,and safe alternative to conventional cleanup techniques.In this study,we used ornamental hydrophytes plants as constructed wetlands to treat urban or rural domestic wastewater.Most ornamental hydrophytes adapted to the wastewater well,and were fairly efficient in scavenging BOD_5(biological oxygen demand 5 d),COD(chemical oxygen demand),TN(total nitrogen),TP(total phosphorus)and heavy metals(Cr,Pb,Cd)in the wastewater.However,the efficiency varied a lot for various species to different contaminants,Iris pseudacorus L.and Acorus gramineus Soland were good choices for treatment of composite-polluted urban wastewater.Some variation in the change of membrane peroxidation and endogenous protective system in responses to wastewater was found among six hydrophytes,which have a correlation with the efficiency of wastewater treatment.It may demonstrate that the developed antioxidative systems of I.pseudacorus and A.gramineus contributed much to their superiority. On the other hand,interaction of different components in the wastewater might have certain effects on phytoremediation.     

Understanding nutrient build-up on urban road surfaces

This article discusses the outcomes of a research project on nutrients build-up on urban road surfaces.Nutrient build-up was investigated on road sites belonging to residential,industrial and commercial land use.Collected build-up samples were separated into five particle size ranges and were tested for total nitrogen (TN),total phosphorus (TP) and sub species of nutrients,namely,NO 2- ,NO 3- ,TKN and PO 43-.Multivariate analytical techniques were used to analyse the data and to develop detailed understanding on build- up.Data analysis revealed that the solids loads on urban road surfaces are highly influenced by factors such as land use,antecedent dry period and traffic volume.However,the nutrient build-up process was found to be independent of the type of land use.It was solely dependent on the particle size of solids build-up.Most of the nutrients were associated with the particle size range 150 μm.Therefore,the removal of particles below 150 μm from road surfaces is of importance for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from road surface solids build-up.It is also important to consider the difference in the composition of nitrogen and phosphorus build-up in the context of designing effective stormwater quality mitigation strategies.     

Monitoring of non-point source pollutants load from a mixed forest land use

The aim of this study was to determine the unit load of NPS (non-point source) pollutants including organic variables such as BOD (biochemical oxygen demand),COD (chemical oxygen demand) and DOC (dissolved organic carbon),nitrogen and phosphorus constituents,and suspended solids (SS) and their event mean concentration (EMC) of runoff flows from a water-shed of mixed forest land use by intensive field experiments.Field monitoring for continuous measurements of rainfall,flow,and water quality was conducted over 12 storm events during 2008–2009 using automated and manual sampling methods.The EMCs of individual runoff event were estimated for each water quality constituent based on the flow rate and concentration data of runoff discharge.The average EMCs of BOD,COD,DOC,SS,TN (total nitrogen),NH 4+ -N,NO 3- -N,TP (total phosphorus),PO 43- -P from the mixed forest land were 1.794,3.498,1.462,10.269,0.862,0.044,0.634,0.034,and 0.005 mg/L,respectively.The annual unit loads of BOD,COD,DOC,SS,TN,NH 4+ -N,NO 3- -N,TP and PO 43--P were estimated as 66.9,133.2,55.5,429.8,36.5,1.6,26.9,1.3 and 0.1 kg/(ha·yr),respectively.In addition,affecting parameters on the EMCs were investigated by statistic analysis of the field data.As a result,significant correlations with precipitation,rainfall intensity,and total runoff flows were found in most constituents.     

Characterization of heavy metal desorption from road-deposited sediment under acid rain scenarios

Road-deposited sediments(RDS) on urban impervious surfaces are important carriers of heavy metals.Dissolved heavy metals that come from RDS influenced by acid rain,are more harmful to urban receiving water than particulate parts.RDS and its associated heavy metals were investigated at typical functional areas,including industrial,commercial and residential sites,in Guangdong,Southern China,which was an acid rain sensitive area.Total and dissolved heavy metals in five particle size fractions were analyzed using a shaking method under acid rain scenarios.Investigated heavy metals showed no difference in the proportion of dissolved fraction in the solution under different acid rain pHs above3.0,regardless of land use.Dissolved loading of heavy metals related to organic carbon content were different in runoff from main traffic roads of three land use types.Coarse particles(150 μm) that could be efficiently removed by conventional street sweepers,accounted for 55.1%-47.1%of the total dissolved metal loading in runoff with pH 3.0-5.6.The obtained findings provided a significant scientific basis to understand heavy metal release and influence of RDS grain-size distribution and land use in dissolved heavy metal pollution affected by acid rain.     

Toxicities and risk assessment of heavy metals in sediments of Taihu Lake, China, based on sediment quality guidelines

The occurrence, toxicities, and ecological risks of five heavy metals(Pb, Cu, Cd, Zn and Ni) in the sediment of Taihu Lake were investigated in this study. To evaluate the toxicities caused by the heavy metals, the toxicities induced by organic contaminants and ammonia in the sediments were screened out with activated carbon and zeolite. The toxicities of heavy metals in sediments were tested with benthic invertebrates(tubificid and chironomid).The correlations between toxicity of sediment and the sediment quality guidelines(SQGs)derived previously were evaluated. There were significant correlations(p 0.0001) between the observed toxicities and the total risk quotients of the heavy metals based on SQGs,indicating that threshold effect level(TEL) and probable effect level(PEL) were reliable to predict the toxicities of heavy metals in the sediments of Taihu Lake. By contrast, the method based on acid volatile sulfides(AVS) and simultaneously extracted metals(SEM),such as ∑SEM/AVS and ∑SEM-AVS, did not show correlations with the toxicities. Moreover,the predictive ability of SQGs was confirmed by a total predicting accuracy of 77%. Ecological risk assessment based on TELs and PELs showed that the contaminations of Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn in the sediments of Taihu Lake were at relatively low or medium levels. The risks caused by heavy metals in the sediments of northern bay of the lake, which received more wastewater discharge from upper stream, were higher than other area of the lake.     

Development of a model to simulate soil heavy metals lateral migration quantity based on SWAT in Huanjiang watershed, China

Lateral transportation of soil heavy metals in rainfall events could significantly increase the scope of pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a model with high accuracy to simulate the migration quantity of heavy metals. A model for heavy metal migration simulation was developed based on the SWAT(Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model. This model took into consideration the influence of soil p H value, soil particle size, runoff volume, sediment amount,concentration of water-soluble heavy metals dissolved in runoff and insoluble absorbed to the soil particles. This model was reasonable in Huanjiang watershed, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, covering an area of 273 km~2. The optimal drainage area threshold was determined by analyzing the effects of watershed subdivision on the simulation results to ensure the simulation accuracy. The main conclusions of this paper were:(1) watershed subdivision could affect simulation migration quantity of heavy metals;(2) the quantity of heavy metals transported by sediment accounted for 97%–99% of the total migration quantity in the study watershed. Therefore, sediment played the most important role in heavy metal migration;(3) the optimal drainage area threshold percentage to ensure high simulation accuracy was determined to be 2.01% of the total watershed;(4) with the optimal threshold percentage, this model could simulate the migration quantity of As, Pb and Cd accurately at the total watershed and subwatershed level. The results of this paper were useful for identifying the key regions with heavy metal migration.     

Speciation and fractionation of heavy metals in soil experimentally contaminated with Pb,Cd, Cu and Zn together and effects on soil negative surface charge

Speciation and fractionation of heavy metals in soil subsamples experimentally loaded with Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in orthogonal design was investigated by sequential extraction, and operationally defined as water-soluble and exchangeable(SE), weakly specific adsorbed( WSA),Fe and Mn oxides-bound(OX) and organic-bound( ORG). The results showed that fractions of heavy metals in the soil subsamples depended on their speciation. About 90% of Cd and 75% of Zn existed in soil subsamples in the SE fraction. Lead and Cu existed in soil subsamples as SE, WSA and OX fractions simultaneously, although SE was still the major fraction. Organic-bound heavy metals were not clearly apparent in all the soil subsamples. The concentration of some heavy metal fractions in soil subsamples showed the good correlation with ionic impulsion of soil, especially for the SE fraction. Continuous saturation of soil subsamples with 0.20 mol/L NH4CI, which is the first step for determination of the negative surface charge of soil by the ion retention method, resulted in desorption of certain heavy metals from the soil. It was found that the percentage desorption of heavy metals from soil subsamples depended greatly on pH, the composition and original heavy metal content of the soil subsamples. However, most of the heavy metals in the soil subsamples were still be retained after multiple saturation. Compared with the parent soil, the negative surface charge of soil subsamples loaded with heavy metals did not show difference significantly from that of the parent one by statistical analysis. Heavy metals existed in the soil subsamples mainly as exchangeable and precipitated simultaneously.     

Fraction distribution and risk assessment of heavy metals in sediments of Moshui Lake

To examine the status and risk of heavy metal pollution in urban lakes, in China, the distribution of several heavy metals (e.g., Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in the sediment of Moshui Lake, Hangyang District, Wuhan City, was characterized. The process of rapid urbanization and industrialization of the district was also studied to find out its relationship with the metal accumulation profile in the sediment. It was found that the total concentration of heavy metals in the sediment was higher than the severe e ect level (SEL), at all sampling sites, except those in the riparian zone. The Cr and Cu maximum concentrations were 1,780 and 1,250 mg/kg, approximately 16 and 11 times as much as the SEL values, and they appeared as deep as 32 cm in one sample. The carbonate and exchangeable fractions of Zn were more than 50% of the total Zn content, resulting in very high risk according to the Risk Assessment Code (RAC). For Cu and Ni, a medium RAC value was found for carbonate and exchangeable fractions of 11%–20%. As sensitive indicators of contaminants in aquatic systems, heavy metals in the sediment reflect the outcome of regional urbanization, industrialization, and environmental management. With rapid urbanization, sedimentary Pb and Zn concentrations increased. The experimental results showed that high sedimentary heavy metal concentrations had resulted from rapid urbanization and industrialization, which would absolutely lead to substantial aquatic environmental decline in urban lakes.     

First flush of storm runoff pollution from an urban catchment in China

Storm runoff pollution process was investigated in an urban catchment with an area of 1.3 km^2 in Wuhan City of China. The results indicate that the pollutant concentration peaks preceded the flow peaks in all of 8 monitored storm events. The intervals between pollution peak and flow peak were shorter in the rain events with higher intensity in the initial period than those with lower intensity. The fractions of pollution load transported by the first 30% of runoff volume （FF30） were 52.2%-72.1% for total suspended solids （TSS）, 53.0%-65.3% for chemical oxygen demand （COD）, 40.4%-50.6% for total nitrogen （TN）, and 45.8%-63.2% for total phosphorus （TP）, respectively. Runoff pollution was positively related to non-raining days before the rainfall. Intercepting the first 30% of runoff volume can remove 62.4% of TSS load, 59.4% of COD load, 46.8% of TN load, and 54.1% of TP load, respectively, according to all the storm events. It is suggested that controlling the first flush is a critical measure in reduction of urban stormwater pollution.     

西安市某文教区典型下垫面径流污染特征

在西安市某文教区路面、屋面和绿地设置径流采样点,采用人工时间间隔采样法对2016年8月~2017年2月的3场降雨径流和2场融雪径流全程采样,测试径流过程SS、COD、TN、TP、Pb、Zn、Cu、Cd、Ni、Cr、PAHs、溶解态COD、溶解态重金属和溶解态PAHs的浓度以及颗粒物粒径d₅₀,研究各下垫面降雨径流污染水平及出流规律,比较不同下垫面降雨径流和融雪径流污染特征.结果表明,各类下垫面降雨径流主要污染物均为SS、COD、TN、Pb、Cr,路面和绿地径流中SS的EMCs均超过《污水综合排放标准》二级标准,3类下垫面降雨径流COD、TN、Pb、Cr的EMCs均超出《地表水环境质量标准》Ⅲ类标准,PAHs与国内相关研究相比属于中等污染水平,路面、屋面和绿地径流的EMC分别为266.8~389.8ng/L、254.9~303.0ng/L和231.2ng/L.路面径流SS、COD、Zn、Pb、Cu、PAHs浓度高于屋面径流,而TN、TP、Cr等指标则相反,表明径流中TN、TP、Cr主要源于大气干湿沉降,而交通排污对SS、COD、Zn、Pb、Cu、PAHs等有较大输入贡献.3类下垫面降雨径流污染浓度输出规律差异显著,路面径流污染物初期浓度较大,受雨期交通排污影响中后段波动剧烈,屋面径流污染物浓度随径流历时持续降低且趋于稳定,绿地径流污染物浓度沿程变化相对较小.降雨强度对总量污染物浓度输出的影响大于溶解态污染物,表现为d₅₀与降雨强度呈现良好的相关性.因降雪期间污染物持续累积且径流量较小,路面融雪径流污染物浓度远大于降雨径流,而屋面融雪径流因流量较小导致携带污染物的能力较弱故水质优于降雨径流.     

城市路面径流重金属排放规律及初期效应研究

在西安市城市主干道南二环太白立交高架段设置路面径流采样点,采用降雨-产流-产污同步观测的试验方法,对2014年7月—2015年8月的6场降雨径流事件进行采样,监测径流过程中Cu、Pb、Zn、Cr、Ni、Cd的浓度变化,并研究其污染排放规律及初期冲刷效应。结果表明:路面径流污染排放规律与降雨特征及污染物赋存状态密切相关,溶解态重金属浓度均在径流初期达到峰值;颗粒态重金属浓度峰值出现时间略滞后于雨强峰值;重金属总量初期冲刷程度的强弱和溶解态重金属的差异较大,重金属总量初期冲刷程度越强,溶解态重金属反而越弱。     

杭州市余杭区典型农村暴雨径流污染特征

为探讨南方经济发达地区农村暴雨径流污染特征,选择杭州市余杭区的漕桥与蒲家头两个典型建制村,采集了屋顶、场院、农田和污水汇集口这4种下垫面的3次降雨过程中的径流水样,重点分析了氮、磷和重金属元素(Mn、Cu、Zn、Ni、Cr、Cd、As、Pb)浓度,对比了不同下垫面3次暴雨径流中污染物的浓度差异和年污染负荷.结果表明,在漕桥暴雨径流中,TSS、COD、NH+4-N、TP和TN的平均浓度分别为16.19、21.01、0.74、1.39和2.39 mg·L-1;在蒲家头暴雨径流汇中,TSS、COD、NH+4-N、TP和TN的平均浓度分别为3.10、15.69、0.90、0.78和3.58 mg·L-1;暴雨径流中各重金属浓度均低于国家地表水Ⅱ类标准.与地表水标准比较,漕桥和蒲家头TP的EMC分别超出地表水Ⅴ类标准1.9倍、3.5倍,TN分别超标1.8倍、1.2倍.另外,农田下垫面中的TSS和COD年污染负荷最高.     

阳澄湖表层沉积物中氮磷及重金属的空间分布特征及污染评价

为了解阳澄湖表层沉积物中氮磷及重金属的空间分布和污染特征,对全湖开展了大范围调查,基于综合污染指数、地积累指数法和潜在生态风险指数法对沉积物污染风险进行评价.结果表明:阳澄湖表层沉积物中w(TN)、w(TP)平均值分别为3 433、379 mg/kg,湖区氮磷污染严重且空间差异明显,w(TN)高值区位于阳澄东湖,w(TP)高值区位于阳澄西湖;综合污染指数评价结果显示,整个阳澄湖TN均为重度污染状态,TP除阳澄西湖外大部分区域处于轻度污染状态.阳澄湖表层沉积物中w(Cu)、w(Zn)、w(Pb)、w(Cr)、w(Cd)、w(As)、w(Hg)、w(Ni)的平均值分别为35.0、141、12.6、62.6、0.36、27.5、0.145、47.6 mg/kg,分别是江苏省土壤重金属环境背景值的1.50、2.17、0.57、0.83、4.22、2.93、5.78、1.45倍,阳澄西湖的重金属含量要高于阳澄中湖和阳澄东湖.地积累指数法和潜在生态风险指数法评价结果均表明,Hg和Cd是主要的生态风险贡献因子,二者生态风险指数平均值分别为231.23、126.63.相关分析结果表明,阳澄湖表层沉积物中Cu、Zn、Pb、Cr、Cd、Hg和Ni的质量分数显著相关,说明其具有相似的来源,结合水系结构和周边企业分布,推测其主要来自于相城区和常熟市的工业企业.      

高速公路路面径流沉降过程中重金属去除特性

在对南京机场高速公路令桥段2008年2月~2009年2月15场降雨事件初期路面径流进行自由沉降试验的基础上,考察了自由沉降过程中Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb 4种重金属的去除率随时间的变化特征.同时,重点分析了重金属去除与截留沉速和悬浮固体(SS)去除的关系,并探讨了降雨特征和径流pH值对重金属去除特性的影响.结果表明,沉降开始30min内Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb去除率增长迅速,30min去除率均占2h总去除率的60%以上.Pb的2h平均去除率最高,可达25.62％,Cu、Cd和Zn的2h平均去除率分别为21.20%、19.97%和19.10%.同一重金属的沉降去除率每提高10%,截留沉速范围及上限值减少5倍左右.截留沉速相同时,Pb的去除效果最好,Cd、Cu、Zn的去除效果相差不大.SS与Cu、Zn、Cd、Pb沉降去除率之间的相关性存在差异,Pb多数以颗粒态形式存在,因而SS与Pb沉降去除率相关系数最大,其相关系数为0.8126(p=0.0002）;SS与Cd、Cu、Zn沉降去除率的相关系数分别为0.6871、0.6804、0.7653.路面径流pH值对重金属去除特性的影响显著,与4种重金属沉降去除率均呈正相关,且与Zn、Cd、Pb的相关系数均大于0.5;Zn主要以溶解态形式存在,因而Zn沉降去除率受pH值影响最明显,两者在0.05水平上显著相关(p=0.029).     

澳门城市小流域地表径流污染特征分析

在澳门半岛选取土地利用为公园绿地和商住混合的2个分流制城市小流域.于2005-08～2005-11借助自动采样器进行流域出口5场降雨地表径流水质水量监测.结果表明,商住混合分流制小流域TN、TP、COD多场降雨平均浓度值分别超出国家地表水环境V类标准4倍以上.公园绿地小流域TN、TP均超出V类水标准2倍多.从降雨-径流过程污染物浓度历时变化看,2个小流域TN和TP呈现一定的初始冲刷现象.TSS与TN、TP的判定系数R²都在0.95以上,地表径流中水土流失与总氮总磷输出显     

杭州城区河道水体及底泥污染指标的相关性研究

以杭州城区六条代表性河道水体及底泥污染物实际监测数据为基础,分析研究了pH、营养盐、耗氧类指标、有机物和重金属等污染指标之间的相关关系,为杭州城市水环境的综合治理提供参考。结果表明：（1）河道水体中TN、TP和NH3-N呈显著的正相关,COD。。和BOD,相关性极显著,说明污染具有同源性;（2）河道底泥中的有机质、全磷与全氮有较好的相关性,有机质与四种重金属的相关性由大到小的顺序依次为Cd〉Pb〉Zn〉Cu,四种重金属之间Pb与Cd和zn相关性显著;（3）河道中底泥相对比较稳定,大部分时期底泥中的营养盐和上覆水体中的营养盐没有相关性,底泥对上覆水体的影响较小。     

毛竹林地磷素流失特征研究

通过在四岭水库流域代表性毛竹林地设置定位径流小区,研究不同施肥条件下毛竹林地磷素流失状况.该定位试验设有对照(CK,不施肥),农民常规高产栽培(FFP)与适地养分科学管理(SSNM)3个处理.结果表明,在2009年6月～2010年2月这9个月的监测期内,各次自然降雨条件下毛竹林地表径流中总磷(TP)平均浓度为0.59 ...