Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Measuring the bioavailability of polychlorinated biphenyls to earthworms in soil enriched with biochar or activated carbon using triolein-embedded cellulose acetate membrane

  • Soils, Sec 3 • Remediation and Management of Contaminated or Degraded Lands • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent soil contaminants that resist biodegradation and present serious risks to living organisms. The presence of biochar in soils can lower the availability of PCBs to biota. In this study, the effect of biochar enrichment in soils on bioaccumulation of PCBs was investigated.

Materials and methods

We applied two types of biochar including pine needle biochar (PC) and wheat straw biochar (WC), and an activated carbon (AC) to soil (2 % w/w) and employed two alternative methods to quantified rates of bioaccumulation: a living bioassay (using earthworm, Eisenia fetida, as a model organism) and a triolein-embedded cellulose acetate membrane (TECAM).

Results and discussion

Our results show that the application of biochar or AC greatly reduced the uptake of PCBs (particularly less-chlorinated PCBs) by earthworms (the reduction in total PCBs concentration was up to 40.0 and 49.0 % for PC and WC treatments, while 71.6 % for AC application). We found that the bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) for PCBs in the earthworms in biochar/AC-enriched soils were strongly correlated with O:C ratio of the biochar/AC (R 2 = 0.998, p < 0.05). We observed that BAFs increased at log K OW below 6.3 and decreased at log K OW values greater than 6.3. We demonstrated that the concentration of PCBs in TECAM membranes were positively correlated with the concentration of PCBs earthworms in soil.

Conclusions

TECAM offers an efficient and cost-effective method for predicting the bioavailability of PCBs in field-contaminated soils undergoing sorbent-based remediation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Belfroid ASD, Van Gestel C (1996) Bioavailability and toxicokinetics of hydrophobic aromatic compounds in benthic and terrestrial invertebrates. Environ Rev 4:276–299

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blankenship AL, Zwiernik MJ, Coady KK, Kay DP, Newsted JL, Strause K, Park C, Bradley PW, Neigh AM, Millsap SD, Jones PD, Giesy JP (2005) Differential accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in the terrestrial food web of the Kalamazoo River superfund site, Michigan. Environ Sci Technol 39:5954–5963

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen BL, Zhou DD, Zhu LZ (2008) Transitional adsorption and partition of nonpolar and polar aromatic contaminants by biochars of pine needles with different pyrolytic temperatures. Environ Sci Technol 42:5137–5143

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cho YM, Ghosh U, Kennedy AJ, Grossman A, Ray G, Tomaszewski JE, Smithenry DW, Bridges TS, Luthy RG (2009) Field application of activated carbon amendment for in-situ stabilization of polychlorinated biphenyls in marine sediment. Environ Sci Technol 43:3815–3823

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dean JR, Scott WC (2004) Recent developments in assessing the bioavailability of persistent organic pollutants in the environment. Trac Trends Anal Chem 23:609–618

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fagervold SK, Chai YZ, Davis JW, Wilken M, Cornelissen G, Ghosh U (2010) Bioaccumulation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans in E. fetida from floodplain soils and the effect of activated carbon amendment. Environ Sci Technol 44:5546–5552

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang GD, Gao J, Liu C, Dionysiou DD, Wang Y, Zhou DM (2014) Key role of persistent free radicals in hydrogen peroxide activation by biochar: implications to organic contaminant degradation. Environ Sci Technol 48:1902–1910

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang GD, Zhu CY, Dionysiou DD, Gao J, Zhou DM (2015) Mechanism of hydroxyl radical generation from biochar suspensions: implications to diethyl phthalate degradation. Bioresource Technol 176:210–217

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fisk AT, Norstrom RJ, Cymbalisty CD, Muir DG (1998) Dietary accumulation and depuration of hydrophobic organochlorines: bioaccumulation parameters and their relationship with the octanol/water partition coefficient. Environ Toxicol Chem 17:951–961

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fryer ME, Collins CD (2003) Model intercomparison for the uptake of organic chemicals by plants (vol 37, pg 1617, 2003). Environ Sci Technol 37:3038–3038

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hallgren P, Westbom R, Nilsson T, Sporring S, Bjorklund E (2006) Measuring bioavailability of polychlorinated biphenyls in soil to earthworms using selective supercritical fluid extraction. Chemosphere 63:1532–1538

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huckins JN, Petty JD, Orazio CE, Lebo JA, Clark RC, Gibson VL, Gala WR, Echols KR (1999) Determination of uptake kinetics (sampling rates) by lipid-containing semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water. Environ Sci Technol 33:3918–3923

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jakob L, Hartnik T, Henriksen T, Elmquist M, Brandli RC, Hale SE, Cornelissen G (2012) PAH-sequestration capacity of granular and powder activated carbon amendments in soil, and their effects on earthworms and plants. Chemosphere 88:699–705

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Janssen EML, Oen AMP, Luoma SN, Luthy RG (2011) Assessment of field-related influences on polychlorinated biphenyl exposures and sorbent amendment using polychaete bioassays and passive sampler measurements. Environ Toxicol Chem 30:173–180

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klüpfel L, Keiluweit M, Kleber M, Sander M (2014) Redox properties of plant biomass-derived black carbon (biochar). Environ Sci Technol 48:5601–5611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koelmans AA, Meulman B, Meijer T, Jonker MTO (2009) Attenuation of polychlorinated biphenyl sorption to charcoal by humic acids. Environ Sci Technol 43:736–742

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krauss M, Wilcke W, Zech W (2000) Availability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to earthworms in urban soils. Environ Sci Technol 34:4335–4340

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li LZ, Zhou DM, Peijnenburg WJGM, Wang P, van Gestel CAM, Jin SY, Wang QY (2010) Uptake pathways and toxicity of Cd and Zn in the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Soil Biol Biochem 42:1045–1050

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liang XW, Zhu SZ, Chen P, Zhu LY (2010) Bioaccumulation and bioavailability of polybrominated diphynel ethers (PBDEs) in soil. Environ Pollut 158:2387–2392

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mackay D, Fraser A (2000) Bioaccumulation of persistent organic chemicals: mechanisms and models. Environ Pollut 110:375–391

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oh SY, Son JG, Chiu PC (2013) Biochar-mediated reductive transformation of nitro herbicides and explosives. Environ Toxicol Chem 32:501–508

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nybom I, Werner D, Leppänen MT et al (2012) Responses of Lumbriculus variegatus to activated carbon amendments in uncontaminated sediments. Environ Sci Technol 46(23):12895–12903

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pastor-Villegas J, Rodriguez JMM, Pastor-Valle JF, Rouquerol J, Denoyel R, Garcia MG (2010) Adsorption-desorption of water vapour on chars prepared from commercial wood charcoals, in relation to their chemical composition, surface chemistry and pore structure. J Anal Appl Pyrol 88:124–133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reid BJ, Jones KC, Semple KT (2000) Bioavailability of persistent organic pollutants in soils and sediments—a perspective on mechanisms, consequences and assessment. Environ Pollut 108:103–112

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Safe SH (1994) Polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs)—environmental-impact, biochemical and toxic responses, and implications for risk assessment. Crit Rev Toxicol 24:87–149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shang HT, Wang P, Wang T, Wang YW, Zhang HD, Fu JJ, Ren DW, Chen WH, Zhang QH, Jiang GB (2013) Bioaccumulation of PCDD/Fs, PCBs and PBDEs by earthworms in field soils of an e-waste dismantling area in China. Environ Int 54:50–58

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma B, Gardner KH, Melton J, Hawkins A, Tracey G (2009) Evaluation of activated carbon as a reactive cap sorbent for sequestration of polychlorinated biphenyls in the presence of humic acid. Environ Eng Sci 26:1371–1379

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singer AC, Jury W, Luepromchai E, Yahng CS, Crowley DE (2001) Contribution of earthworms to PCB bioremediation. Soil Biol Biochem 33:765–776

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sousa A, Pereira R, Antunes SC, Cachada A, Pereira E, Duarte AC, Goncalves F (2008) Validation of avoidance assays for the screening assessment of soils under different anthropogenic disturbances. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 71:661–670

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun XL, Ghosh U (2007) PCB bioavailability control in Lumbriculus variegatus through different modes of activated carbon addition to sediments. Environ Sci Technol 41:4774–4780

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun XL, Werner D, Ghosh U (2009) Modeling PCB mass transfer and bioaccumulation in a freshwater oligochaete before and after amendment of sediment with activated carbon. Environ Sci Technol 43(4):1115–1121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tang JX, Liste HH, Alexander M (2002) Chemical assays of availability to earthworms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil. Chemosphere 48:35–42

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tao YQ, Zhang SZ, Wang ZJ, Christie P (2008) Predicting bioavailability of PAHs in soils to wheat roots with triolein-embedded cellulose acetate membranes and comparison with chemical extraction. J Agric Food Chem 56:10817–10823

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tao YQ, Zhang SZ, Wang ZJ, Christie P (2009) Predicting bioavailability of PAHs in field-contaminated soils by passive sampling with triolein embedded cellulose acetate membranes. Environ Pollut 157:545–551

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomann RV, Connolly JP, Parkerton TF (1992) An equilibrium-model of organic-chemical accumulation in aquatic food webs with sediment interaction. Environ Toxicol Chem 11:615–629

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Hu YT, Zhao X, Wang SQ, Xing GX (2013a) Comparisons of biochar properties from wood material and crop residues at different temperatures and residence times. Energ Fuel 27:5890–5899

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Wang L, Fang GD, Herath HMSK, Wang YJ, Cang L, Xie ZB, Zhou DM (2013b) Enhanced PCBs sorption on biochars as affected by environmental factors: humic acid and metal cations. Environ Pollut 172:86–93

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Wang YJ, Wang L, Fang GD, Cang L, Herath HMSK, Zhou DM (2013c) Reducing the bioavailability of PCBs in soil to plant by biochars assessed with triolein-embedded cellulose acetate membrane technique. Environ Pollut 174:250–256

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YW, Li XM, Li A, Wang T, Zhang QH, Wang P, Fu JJ, Jiang GB (2007) Effect of municipal sewage treatment plant effluent on bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the recipient water. Environ Sci Technol 41:6026–6032

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Werner D, Higgins CP, Luthy RG (2005) The sequestration of PCBs in Lake Hartwell sediment with activated carbon. Water Res 39:2105–2113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu JP, Luo XJ, Zhang Y, Luo Y, Chen SJ, Mai BX, Yang ZY (2008) Bioaccumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in wild aquatic species from an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling site in South China. Environ Int 34:1109–1113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu YP, Wang ZJ, Ke RH, Khan SU (2005) Accumulation of organochlorine pesticides from water using triolein embedded cellulose acetate membranes. Environ Sci Technol 39:1152–1157

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman JR, Ghosh U, Millward RN, Bridges TS, Luthy RG (2004) Addition of carbon sorbents to reduce PCB and PAH bioavailability in marine sediments: physicochemical tests. Environ Sci Technol 38:5458–5464

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We especially thank anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that have greatly improved the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21307141, No. 41401336), the National Basic Research and Development Program (No. 2013CB934303), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (BK20130105). We are greatly grateful to Professor Zubin Xie of Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Zijian Wang of Research Center for Eco-Enviromental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for providing us with TECAM.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Yu Wang, Yu-Jun Wang, Guo-Dong Fang & Dong-Mei Zhou

  2. Organic Food Development Center, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing, 210042, China

    Lei Wang

Authors
  1. Yu Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lei Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yu-Jun Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Guo-Dong Fang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Dong-Mei Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dong-Mei Zhou.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Jianming Xu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, Y., Wang, L., Wang, YJ. et al. Measuring the bioavailability of polychlorinated biphenyls to earthworms in soil enriched with biochar or activated carbon using triolein-embedded cellulose acetate membrane. J Soils Sediments 16, 527–536 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1245-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1245-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation