title: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in wastewater, WWTPs effluents and in the recipient waters of Beijing, China.
abstract: In this study, surface water samples from the Wenyu River and the North Canal, effluent from major wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Beijing, and wastewater from open sewers that discharge directly into the river system were collected and analyzed for 16 priority USEPA polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Concentrations of these 16 PAHs ranged from 193 to 1790 ng/L in river surface waters, 245 to 404 ng/L in WWTP effluents, and 431 to 2860 ng/L in the wastewater from the small sewers. The WWTP effluent was the main contributor of dissolved PAHs to the river, while wastewater from the small sewers contributed both dissolved and suspended particulate matter-associated PAH to the river as indicated by the high dissolved organic carbon and suspended particulate matter contents in the wastewater. Although the flow from each open sewer was small, a PAH discharge as high as 44 kg/year could occur into the river from these types of sewers. This amount was equivalent to about 22 % of the PAH loads discharged into the North Canal downstream from Beijing, whereas the remainder was mainly released by the major WWTPs in Beijing.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China.
authors.forename: Weixiao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Huijuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pernet-Coudrier
authors.forename: Jiuhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qu
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D011786:Quality Control; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D052638:Particulate Matter; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical