Home  About us  Contact
 

Filtered Water (filtered + water)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Life Sciences50%

Selected Abstracts

Speciation and Environmental Fate of Chromium in Rivers Contaminated with Tannery Effluents

ENGINEERING IN LIFE SCIENCES (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2007
J. Dominik
Abstract Redox and size speciation of chromium in rivers contaminated with tannery wastewater was carried out to provide insight into its transport and removal mechanisms. Total chromium was determined with Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry and Cr,(VI) with Catalytic Adsorption Stripping Voltammetry. For the size speciation, particles were retained with a cartridge filter (cut-off 1.2,,m) and the total filterable fraction was further fractionated with Tangential Flow Filtration to determine the concentrations of chromium associated with the High Molecular Weight Colloidal (HMWC), Low Molecular Weight Colloidal (LMWC) and Truly Dissolved (TD) fractions. Two fluvial systems of similar sizes, but located in contrasting climatic zones, were selected for comparison: the Sebou-Fez system in Morocco and Dunajec River-Czorsztyn Reservoir system in Poland. Particulate Cr dominated in the Sebou-Fez system (about 90,%); while in the Dunajec-Czorsztyn system, it represented only 17,53,% of the total chromium in raw water. Still, the partition coefficients [Kd] were of the same magnitude. Chromium,(III) was the only form detected in Sebou-Fez, whereas in Dunajec-Czorsztyn Cr,(VI) was also present with its proportion increasing downstream from the input of tannery wastewater due to the preferential removal of Cr,(III). In the filtered water in Morocco a large fraction of Cr occurred in the HMWC fraction (50,70,%) at the two most contaminated sites, while the LMWC and TD forms prevailed at the non-contaminated sites in the Sebou River. At a very high concentration, in the water in the proximity of tanneries (well above the theoretical saturation level) Cr precipitated as polynuclear Cr-hydroxide. In Dunajec-Czorsztyn, the partition of Cr,(III) was approximately equal between the HMWC, LMWC and TD fractions, in contrast to Cr,(VI) which occurred almost exclusively in the TD fraction. In both systems, Cr,(III) was rapidly removed from the water to the sediments. The confluence of the Sebou with the Fez and the Czorsztyn reservoir trapped efficiently Cr,(III) preventing its spreading over long distances. Cr,(VI) showed conservative behavior and bypassed the Czorsztyn Reservoir. This study provides a first set of data on the partitioning of Cr,(III) and Cr,(VI) between the particulate, the colloidal and truly dissolved fractions in fluvial systems contaminated with tannery effluents. It also suggests that, in these systems, truly dissolved Cr,(III) can be adequately modeled from the total filterable concentrations. [source]

Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in private drinking water wells: influences of protozoan grazing and elevated copper concentrations

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 1 2002
Rebekka R.E Artz
Abstract The survival characteristics of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in private drinking water wells were investigated to assess the potential for human exposure. A non-toxigenic, chromosomally lux -marked strain of E. coli O157:H7 was inoculated into well water from four different sites in the North East of Scotland. These waters differed significantly in their heavy metal contents as well as nutrient and bacterial grazer concentrations. Grazing and other biological factors were studied using filtered (3 and 0.2 ,m) and autoclaved water. The survival of E. coli O157:H7 was primarily decreased by elevated copper concentrations. This hypothesis was supported by acute toxicity assay data. In addition, significant protozoan predation effects were observed in untreated water when compared with survival rates in filtered water. The combination of these two factors in particular determines the survival time of the pathogen in a private water well. It therefore appears that wells with higher water quality as assessed using the European Union Drinking Water Directive standards will also allow survival of E. coli O157:H7 for much longer periods. [source]

Culture of benthic diatoms and effect of dissolved organic carbon on metamorphosis of the ,white sea urchin Lytechinus pictus (Verrill)'

AQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 4 2010
A Salas-Garza
Abstract The effect of biofilms of the benthic diatom Navicula incerta and of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) they produce was evaluated on the growth and survival of Lytechinus pictus postlarvae during metamorphosis. In each container, 300 postlarvae were exposed to biofilms beginning on days 1, 3 and 6 of metamorphosis, using three replicates and a blank containing only filtered water. The experiments were run for 15 and 18 days in 500-mL containers with daily water changes. We measured 30 postlarvae from each container and counted all organisms on days 1, 3, 9 and 15; DOC was quantified on days 3, 6 and 9. A second experiment was conducted to evaluate whether the presence of diatoms or the DOC they produced improved postlarval development. Five assays were performed in triplicate: a positive control with biofilms, a negative control with filtered water and three treatments with DOC-enriched water from a N. incerta culture supplied on days 1, 4 and 8. In both experiments, postlarvae attained the largest size and highest survival in the treatments with the biofilm. The results indicate that the increase in postlarval size and survival was due to the DOC produced by the diatoms and not by their presence alone. [source]