Contamination of PAHs in Sludge Samples from the Yangtze River Delta Area

Abstract

To ascertain the contaminated conditions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sludge and to evaluate the risk of application of this sludge for agricultural purposes, 44 sludge samples obtained from 15 cities in the Yangtze River Delta area of China were investigated using capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) after ultrasonic extraction and silica gel cleanup. PAHs' contents ranged from 0.0167 to 15.4860 mg kg −1 (dry weight, DW) and averaged 1.376 mg kg −1, with most samples containing < 1.5 mg kg −1. Pyrene (PY), fluoranthene (FL), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (IND), benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), and benzo[g,h,i]perylene (BghiP) were the most dominant compounds, ranging from 0.1582 to 0.2518 mg kg −1. Single PAH, such as naphthalene (NAP, 2-benzene rings), phenan-threne (PA, 3-benzene rings), PY (4-benzene rings), and FL (3-benzene rings), had high detection rates (76.1%–93.5%). The distribution patterns of PAHs were found to vary with the sludge samples; however, the patterns showed that a few compounds with 2- and 3-benzene rings were commonly found in the samples, whereas those with 4-, 5-, and 6-benzene rings were usually less commonly found. All the 44 sludge samples were within the B[a]P concentration limit for sludge applied to agricultural land in China (< 3.0 mg kg −1). The probable sources of PAH contamination in the sludge samples were petroleum, petroleum products, and combustion of liquid and solid fuel. The concentrations and distributions of the 16 PAHs in sludge were related to sludge type, source, and treatment technology, together with the physicochemical properties.