engleski

Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a municipal solid waste landfill and underlying soil

Landfilling is one of the most popular disposal methods for both domestic and industrial wastes and consequently landfill leachates represent a major concern regarding the dangers of groundwater contamination. A method using high-resolution gas chromatoghraphy with mass selective detection (GC/MS) for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the solid waste and soil samples was evaluated and applied in a study conducted on the main landfill of the city of Zagreb. Prior the gas chromatographic determination the samples were extracted by dichloromethane and methanol and the extracts were extracted by silica gel column. Qualitative GC/MS analyses were performed by scanning the masses in the range from 40-450 daltons, while qualitative determinations were carried out using ion monitoring (SIM) technique and deuterated naphtalene as an internal standard. Sixteen selected PAH, including compounds with 2 to 5 condensed aromatic rings, were determinated in the waste and soil samples in order to investigate their distribution in and below the landfill. The total PAH concentration in analysed samples varied in a rather wide range from 117 to 4430 ng/g. The majority of PAH found in the solid waste samples were of anthropogenic origin (pyrolitic and fossil), and the most abundant individual compound was phenanthrene. In contrast, the most abundant PAH in soil samples was retene, a compound formed by diagenetic processes (84-1087 ng/g). The distribution of aromatic hydrocarbons on the vertical profile of the soil and aquifer sediments below the landfill indicated a strong attenuation of their concentration by biological transformations and sorption.

Contaminated soil. Groundwater. Parameters.

nije evidentirano