Petroleum hydrocarbons sediments

Herbes SE, LR Schwall (1978) Microbial transformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in pristine and petroleum-contaminated sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol 35 306-316. 

Rossi, S.S. (1977) Bioavailability of petroleum hydrocarbons from water, sediments and detritus to the marine annelid, neanthes arenaceodentata. Proc. Oil Spill Conf, pp. 621-625. Am. Petrol. Inst., Washington DC. 

Walker et al. [84] examined several methods and solvents for use in the extraction of petroleum hydrocarbons from estuarine water and sediments, during an in situ study of petroleum degradation in sea water. The use of... 

Broman et al. [15] have discussed methods of fingerprinting petroleum hydrocarbons in bottom sediments. 

Petroleum pollution monitoring laboratories in the Mediterranean region participated (1984-1986) in two intercalibration exercises (MEDCALI and II) to evaluate the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Manual for petroleum hydrocarbon determination in sediment (IOC, Manuals and Guides, No. 11). The main source of error in the analysis was the extraction/ partition step. When the results were corrected for recoveries, relative standard deviations for w-alkancs, UCM (unresolved complex mixture) and total aromatics, which had previously been 60, 56 and 49%, respectively, were reduced to 17, 30 and 6%, respectively. 

These conclusions were not applicable when sediment was the source of hydrocarbons. McCain et al. (5) studied the bioavailability of petroleum in sediment to English sole (Parophrys vetu-lus). Sediments rich in alkylated and non-alkylated benzenes and naphthalenes, together with fluorene and phenanthrene, were employed. After 11 days of exposure, samples of skin, muscle, and liver were examined. Fluorene and phenanthrene were not accumulated in the test fish however, significant concentrations of 1-methyl naphthalene, 2-methyl naphthalene, 2,6-dimethyl naphthalene and 1,2,3,4-tetramethylbenzene, were found in skin and liver (Table II) 1-methyl naphthalene and 2-methyl naphthalene were the major components of muscle. In each tissue examined, 1-methyl-naphthalene was the major component 1,2,3,4-tetramethylbenzene occurred in relatively low concentrations in skin and muscle in comparison to naphthalenes containing one and two alkyl groups. 

TableJ Petroleum hydrocarbons in the tissues of English sole exposed to oil-contaminated sediment (test, T) and to nonoiled sediment (control, C) for 2 mo continuously.

These data imply that aromatic hydrocarbons incorporated into sediments are not preferentially accumulated in relation to increased alkyl substitution, as shown with dietary and seawater exposures. Moreover, the apparent lack of accumulation of the fluorene and phenanthrene suggests that unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbons having more than two benzenoid rings may not be readily sequestered by fish exposed to petroleum-impregnated sediment. These differences are presumably related, at least in part, to physico-chemical interactions of aromatic hydrocarbons with sediment matrices that regulate their bioavailability. 

The presence of a residual hydrocarbon phase in soils or sediments has been shown to increase the soil- or sediment-water distribution coefficients of poorly water-soluble organic contaminants [463,464]. Such petroleum-hydrocarbon-based phases have been shown to function as effective partition media for PCB congeners [467]. In general, sorption of contaminants by soils and sediments reduces their bio availability to microorganisms [468,469]. In this fashion, the... 

Sediments of Silver Lake, which contain 6.2 % petroleum hydrocarbons, did not support PCB dechlorination in laboratory assays. 

When other sediments known to support PCB dechlorination were inoculated with PCB-dechlorinating microorganisms and amended with incremental increases of pure petroleum hydrocarbons (0-4 wt%) or 6.2 % petroleum hydrocarbons extracted from Silver Lake sediments, a reduction in both the rate and extent of PCB dechlorination occurred. 

Petroleum hydrocarbons may enter the enviromnent through accidents, from industrial releases, or as by-products from commercial or private uses such as direct release into water through spills or leaks. When release into water occurs, some of the hydrocarbons float on the water and form surface films, while others may sink and form bottom sediments. Bacteria and microorganisms in the water have the potential to break down some of the hydrocarbons over varying periods of time that are dependent on the ambient conditions. On the other hand, hydrocarbons that are spilled onto the soil may remain for a long time. 

There are two noncolumn cleanup methods, one of which uses acid partition (EPA SW-846 3650) to separate the base/neutral and acid components by adjusting pH. This method is often used before alumina column cleanup to remove acid components. The other method (EPA SW-846 3660) is used for sulfur removal and uses copper, mercury, and tetrabutylammonium sulfite as desulfurization compounds. Sulfur is a common interfering compound for petroleum hydrocarbon analysis, particularly for sediments. Sulfur-containing compounds are very common in crude oil and heavy fuel oil. Elemental sulfur is often present in anaerobically biodegraded fuels. Thus, abnormally high levels of sulfur may be... 

Producing soil or sediment data which cannot be compared directly with other total petroleum hydrocarbons data or guidelines because one is expressed in dry weight and the other in wet weight. 

Anaerobic conditions often develop in hydrocarbon-contaminated subsurface sites due to rapid aerobic biodegradation rates and limited supply of oxygen. In the absence of O, oxidized forms or natural organic materials, such as humic substances, are used by microorganisms as electron acceptors. Because many sites polluted by petroleum hydrocarbons are depleted of oxygen, alternative degradation pathways under anaerobic conditions tend to develop. Cervantes et al. (2001) tested the possibility of microbially mediated mineralization of toluene by quinones and humus as terminal electron acceptors. Anaerobic microbial oxidation of toluene to CO, coupled to humus respiration, was demonstrated by use of enriched anaerobic sediments (e.g., from the Amsterdam petroleum harbor). Natural humic acids and... 

Wade TL, Quinn JG. 1980. Incorporation, distribution, and fate of saturated petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments from a controlled marine ecosystem. Marine Environmental Research 3(1) 15-34. 

The Aerobic Biotreatment System (ABS) is an in situ technology that treats soils, sludge, and sediments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),... 

Natural attenuation, often called intrinsic remediation, intrinsic bioremediation, bioattenuation, or monitored natural attenuation (MNA) is an in situ treatment technology for soil, sediment, or groundwater. The technology has been used for full-scale remediation of sites contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), chlorinated solvents, explosives, inorganics, and metals. 

The TRS could potentially treat nonmunicipal sludge, slag, or natural sediment ex situ. In addition to mercury, the system could be used to treat polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), petroleum hydrocarbons, dioxins/furans, and chlorinated solvents. 

Solid-phase bioremediation is an ex situ treatment technology for soil and sediment contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and phenols, including pentachlorophenol (PCP). 

Huwer, S.L., Foekema, E.M., Scholten, M.C.Th. (1997). Pilot study on the dose-effect responses of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments (SLURP olie). Report phase II Test results. Apeldoom, The Netherlands TNO Institute of Environmental Sciences, Energy Research and Process Innovation. TNO-MEP - R 97/422. 

Various workers have assembled relatively complete assessments of the annual input of the major biological nutrients (C, N, P), certain heavy metals (Mn, Cd, Pb, Cu), and petroleum hydrocarbons to Narragansett Bay. Other studies have developed inventories of the amounts of these materials in the sediments of the Bay. We have brought these data together with information on sediment accumulation rates in the Bay to determine the degree to which this one estuary serves as a sink for different types of materials in their passage between land and the coastal ocean. 

It appears that Narragansett Bay retains less than 5 % of the nutrients, less than 10 % of the Mn, and perhaps 15-30 % of the Cd that is input to the system each year. The removal of Cu (70-95 %) and Pb (80-100 %) is much more effective. Somewhere between 25-65 % of the petroleum hydrocarbons entering the Bay remain in the sediments. These estimates are in agreement with the behavior of the different materials in sediment-water flux measurements and in experiments using the large MERL mesocosms. 

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