title: Influence of micro-organisms on the dissolution of metallic platinum emitted by automobile catalytic converters.
abstract: Platinum emitted by automotive catalyst converters mainly exists in the metallic form, which is not bioavailable. Several investigations showed that finely dispersed metallic platinum is dissolved in organic matrices to a significantly high degree. In an exclusion experiment, observations were made as to whether the transformation of Pt(0) and other platinum compounds is mainly of a chemical nature or is influenced by micro-organisms. A previous experiment, concerning the interaction of several platinum compounds with a clay-like humic soil was repeated under sterile conditions to rule out the influence of micro-organisms. During the time of interaction (3-60 d), no significant differences were observed between the sterile and non-sterile modes. Thus, the dissolution of metallic platinum into soluble species, observed previously within this time period, seems to be mainly of a chemical nature.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Ecological Chemistry, GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Neuherberg, D-85758, Oberschleissheim, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lustig
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zang
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schramel