A case study on the occurrence, transport, and fate of mercury species in a sewage treatment plant in Jiaozuo, China

Occurrence and fate of sewage- and sludge-borne total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) have received little attention, although they might be an important component of the global Hg inventory. To address the knowledge gap, sewage and sewage sludge (SS) samples were collected from a secondary m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science and pollution research international 2018-08, Vol.25 (22), p.21616-21622
Main Authors: Liu, Hao, Cui, Ying, Li, Hua, Mao, Yuxiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic Pollution
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
China
Dimethylmercury
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecotoxicology
Environment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Health
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental science
Mercury
Mercury (metal)
Mercury - analysis
Mercury - chemistry
Methylmercury
Methylmercury Compounds - analysis
Municipal wastes
Municipal wastewater
Raw sewage
Research Article
Sewage - analysis
Sewage disposal
Sewage sludge
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment plants
Waste Water Technology
Wastewater treatment plants
Water Management
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water Pollution Control
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Summary:Occurrence and fate of sewage- and sludge-borne total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) have received little attention, although they might be an important component of the global Hg inventory. To address the knowledge gap, sewage and sewage sludge (SS) samples were collected from a secondary municipal sewage treatment plant (MSTP) located in Jiaozuo, China. Total Hg in the raw sewage varied between 95.3 ng/L and 1.2 × 10 3  ng/L, while MeHg occurred in the sewage within ranges of 2.7–21.3 ng/L. On average, 93.4% of THg and 89.1% of MeHg were removed from the raw sewage by the MSTP. Around 80% of net THg input into the MSTP was transported to the SS, while 80% of net MeHg input was decomposed during the treatment processes. Thus, MSTPs would be regarded as an important sink of sewage-borne THg and MeHg. On the other hand, MeHg widely occurred in the SS, with concentrations between 7.2 and 10.2 ng/g, accounting for 0.2% of the corresponding THg contents in the SS. Occurrence of THg and MeHg in the SS indicated that SS would be a significant source of MeHg and THg to the environment.
ISSN:0944-1344
1614-7499
DOI:10.1007/s11356-018-2312-8