Publication details
Changes in the fingerprint of oil derived substances in the sediments of the Bílina River
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Zprávy o geologických výzkumech |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.geology.cz/img/zpravyvyzkum/fulltext/21_Barthova_160630.pdf |
| Field | Geochemistry |
| Keywords | Bílina River; C10-C40; TEH; PAH; fluoranthen; pyren |
| Description | The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in the presence of the crude oil derived substances in the Bílina River sediments and to verify explanatory abilities of the used analytical methods. The Bílina River has its source on the slopes of Krušné hory and flows to the east through surface pits in an artificial corridor in its upper stream and further continues through the open landscape of the North Bohemian brown coal basin. The primary factor determining the current appearance of the landscape is human activity and anthropogenic embankments. The area along the Bílina River is loaded by the opencast brown coal mining and coal processing, petroleum refineries, and chemical plants. There are major industrial operations in the basin of the River Bílina which are particularly co-responsible over a long term for high levels of persistent organic pollutants and inorganic pollutants in the river sediments. Twenty samples of river sediments were collected along the Bílina River. All samples were subjected to the determination of the total extractable hydrocarbons, the total organic carbon, the total sulphur, and the sum of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAH). According to Herron (1988) most of the analysed samples belong to the shales or Fe-shales where a great possibility of sorption of inorganic or organic pollutants is expected. To distinguish the river segments with the prevailing input of the petrogenic from pyrogenic substances, correlation of the total extractable hydrocarbons and PAH were applied. The ratio fluoranthen / pyren, whose value from the anthropogenically modified flow in the segment Záluží - Bílina did not go beyond 0.5 which is significant for the presence of the emissions from the transport or the petroleum industry, has been proved superior to the other currently recommended ratios of PAH. The evaluation of the archival TEH data did not show any improvement of the water and sediment quality along the Bilina river profile. |