Modeling the changes in the concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons from an oil-coated gravel column

• Published in: Ocean science journal Vol. 50; no. 4; pp. 763 - 773
• Main Authors: Jung, Jee-Hyun, Kang, Hyun-Joong, Kim, Moonkoo, Yim, Un Hyuk, An, Joon Geon, Shim, Won Joon, Kwon, Jung-Hwan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute and The Korean Society of Oceanography 01-12-2015; 한국해양과학기술원
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Lateolabrax maculatus; Marine; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Oceanography; Paralichthys olivaceus; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; 해양학; Raoult’s law; embryo; oil spill; bioconcentration; environmental exposure
• ISSN: 1738-5261; 2005-7172
• DOI: 10.1007/s12601-015-0068-3

The performance of a lab-scale flow-through exposure system designed for the evaluation of ecotoxicity due to oil spills was evaluated. The system simulates a spill event using an oil-coated gravel column through which filtered seawater is passed and flows into an aquarium containing fish embryos of olive flounder (
Paralichthys olivaceus
) and spotted sea bass (
Lateolabrax maculates
). The dissolved concentrations of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the column effluent were monitored and compared with theoretical solubilities predicted by Raoult’s law. The effluent concentrations after 24 and 48 h were close to the theoretical predictions for the higher molecular weight PAHs, whereas the measured values for the lower molecular weight PAHs were lower than predicted. The ratios of the concentration of PAHs in flounder embryos to that in seawater were close to the lipid-water partition coefficients for the less hydrophobic PAHs, showing that equilibrium was attained between embryos and water. On the other hand, 48 h were insufficient to attain phase equilibrium for the more hydrophobic PAHs, indicating that the concentration in fish embryos may be lower than expected by equilibrium assumption. The results indicate that the equilibrium approach may be suitable for less hydrophobic PAHs, whereas it might overestimate the effects of more hydrophobic PAHs after oil spills because phase equilibrium in an oil-seawater-biota system is unlikely to be achieved. The ecotoxicological endpoints that were affected within a few days are likely to be influenced mainly by moderately hydrophobic components such as 3-ring PAHs.