Titanium nanoparticles fate in small-sized watersheds under different land-uses

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 422; p. 126695
• Main Authors: Wang, Jia-Lan, Alasonati, Enrica, Fisicaro, Paola, Benedetti, Marc F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15-01-2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biodiversity and Ecology; Chemical Sciences; Environmental Sciences; Fluxes; Land-use; Nanoparticle; Other; Sp-ICPMS; Titanium; Titanium; Fluxes; Nanoparticle; Sp-ICPMS; Land-use
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126695

Surface waters from three catchments having contrasting land-uses (forested, agricultural, and urban) were sampled monthly and analysed for nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (NPs-TiO2) by single particle ICPMS and electron microscopy. We report one-year of data for NPs-TiO2 having average number and mass concentrations of 9.1 × 108 NPs-TiO2 particles L-1 and 11 µg NPs-TiO2 L-1 respectively. An increase in concentration during warmer months is observed in the forested and agricultural catchments. Both concentrations of NPs-TiO2 are within the range of recently reported values using similar analytical approaches. The positive correlations for NPs-TiO2 mass concentration or particle number with the concentration of some trace elements and DOC in the forested and agricultural catchments suggest the detected NPs-TiO2 in these two systems are mostly from geogenic origin. Additionally, microscopy imaging confirmed the presence of NPs in the three catchments. Furthermore, the land-area normalized annual flux of NPs-TiO2 (1.65 kg TiO2 year-1 km-2) was highest for the agricultural catchment, suggesting that agricultural practices have a different impact on the NPs-TiO2 dynamics and exports than other land-uses (urban or forestry). A similar trend is also found by the reanalysis of recent literature data.
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•The land-use has an impact on the TiO2 nanoparticle concentrations, biogeochemistry, dynamics and exports rates.•Higher amounts of small sized TiO2 nanoparticles are detected by sp-ICPMS.•Ti speciation varies with the type of soils and land-use.•DOM controls the number of TiO2 nanoparticles in surface water samples.•Land-use impacts TiO2 nanoparticles concentrations, dynamics and exports rates.