Monitoring of natural water pollution by fluorescence spectroscopy

Abstract

Introduction. Environmental monitoring of the state of water bodies is an important component of environmental protection. A promising direction for assessing the quality of water bodies is to determine their generalized indicators. Fluorescence spectroscopy can serve as a source of important information about the state of water bodies and sources of their pollution. Purpose of the study - to assess the water pollution of the Moskva River and its tributaries using the fluorescence spectroscopy method. To reveal the influence of oil products on the fluorescence spectra of river water. Materials and methods. The object of the study was water from the Moskva River and its tributaries: Pakhra, Kotlovka, Setun. Water samples from the Moskva River were taken in different parts of the city, which are characterized by varying degrees of pollution. Water fluorescence spectra were measured with SM2203 spectrofluorimeter (ZAO Solar, Belarus), total organic and inorganic carbon, on a TOC-VCHP total carbon analyzer (Shimadzu, Japan). Results. The nature of the fluorescence spectra of the Moskva River and its tributaries in the absence of significant anthropogenic pollution are characterized by relative constancy. Bacterial pollution and pollution with aromatic compounds of anthropogenic origin, including oil products, leads to an increase in the fluorescence intensity in the short-wavelength part of the spectrum. The correlation coefficient between the optical density at a wavelength of 254 nm and the content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) for the studied samples was 0.66, and between the fluorescence intensity at a wavelength of 400 nm and DOC was 0.74. Limitations. The method cannot be used for the quantitative determination of individual substances; it is intended for a semi-quantitative assessment of water pollution. Conclusion. Measurement of fluorescence spectra and total organic carbon makes it possible to give a general assessment of the contamination of a water body (which is especially important for a sample of unknown composition) and to choose the optimal scheme for its targeted analysis. High dissolved organic carbon (DOC) values and high fluorescence intensity at 320 nm are highly likely to indicate chemical contamination of water, while DOC values characteristic of a water body and high fluorescence intensity at 320 nm indicate bacterial contamination.