Partitioning of water soluble organic carbon in three sediment size fractions: Effect of the humic substances

Abstract

Water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in sediments plays an important role in transference and transformation of aquatic pollutants. This article investigated the inherent mechanisms of how sediment grain size affect the partitioning coefficient (k) of WSOC. Influences of NaOH extracted humic substances were particularly focused on. Sediments were sampled from two cross-sections of the middle Yellow River and sieved into three size fractions (< 63 microm, 63-100 microm, and 100-300 microm). The total concentration of WSOC in sediments (C(WSOC)) and k were estimated using multiple water-sediment ratio experiments. Results showed that C(WSOC) ranged from 0.012 to 0.022 mg/g, while k ranged from 0.8 to 3.9 L/kg. Correlations between the spectrum characteristics of NaOH extracted humic substances and k were analyzed. Strong positive correlations are determined between k and the aromaticity indicators of NaOH extracted humic substances in different sediment size fractions. Comparing with finer fractions (< 63 pm), k is higher in larger size fractions (63-100 microm and 100-300 microm) related to higher aromaticity degree of NaOH extracted humic substances mostly. While negative relationship between k and the area ratio of fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) at 3400 and 1430 cm(-1) implied that the lowest k was related to the highest concentration of acidic humic groups in particles < 63 microm. WSOC in finer fractions (< 63 microm) is likely to enter into pore water, which may further accelerate the transportation of aquatic contaminants from sediment to water.