Separation of nanoparticles from polydisperse environmental samples: comparative study of filtration, sedimentation, and coiled tube field-flow fractionation

Nanoparticles (NPs) in the environment have a potential risk for human health and the ecosystem due to their ubiquity, specific characteristics, and properties (extreme mobility in the environment, abilities to accumulate of toxic elements and penetrate into living organisms). There is still a gap in studies on the chemical composition of natural NPs. The main reason is the difficulty to recover NPs, which may represent only one-thousandth or less of the bulk environmental sample, for further dimensional and quantitative characterization. In the present study, a methodology for the recovery of the nanoparticle fraction from polydisperse environmental samples was developed taking as example volcanic ashes from different regions of the world. For the first time, three separation methods, namely, filtration through a 0.45-μm membrane, sedimentation, and coiled tube field-flow fractionation (CTFFF), were comparatively studied. The separated fractions were characterized by laser diffraction and scanning electron microscopy and then analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission and mass spectrometry. It has been shown that all three methods provide the separation of NPs less than 400 nm from the bulk material. However, the fraction separated by sedimentation also contained a population (5% in mass) of submicron particles (~ 400-900 nm). The filtration resulted in low recovery of NPs. The determination of most trace elements was then impossible; the concentration of elements was under the limit of detection of the analytical instrument. The sedimentation and CTFFF made it possible to determine quantifiable concentrations for both major and trace elements in separated fractions. However, the sedimentation took 48 h while CTFFF enabled the fractionation time to be decreased down to 2 h. Hence, CTFFF looked to be the most promising method for the separation of NPs followed by their quantitative elemental analysis.

Ionic strength reduction and flow interruption enhanced colloid-facilitated Hg transport in contaminated soils

The effects of ionic strength (IS) reduction (5-0.05mM) and flow interruption (FI, flow stopped for 7d) on colloid and Hg release in the leachate were examined in column experiment. Two Hg contaminated soils (13.9 and 146mg/kg) were used, with Hg concentrations in colloids being 2-4 times greater than bulk soils. Based on sequential extraction, Hg concentrations in organic matter (OM) fraction were the most abundant in soils (31-48%). Column leaching after IS reduction and FI released large amounts of colloidal Hg, accounting for 44-48% of released Hg. The highest colloidal Hg concentrations at 27.8 and 360μg/L were observed at ∼1 pore volume after FI. Concentration distribution of colloidal OM and colloidal Fe was similar to colloidal Hg in the leachate, showing peak concentrations after IS reduction and FI. Most of the released colloidal Hg was in OM fraction (37-53%), with some in Fe/Mn oxide fraction (11-19%). Based on composition of released colloids and Hg fractionation in soils and colloids, colloidal OM could serve as an important carrier for Hg transport in soils.