Elimination of Zinc from Roof Runoff through Geotextile and Clinoptilolite Filters

Direct infiltration of roof runoff into the ground may pose a potential risk of soil and groundwater contamination. The performance of two different barrier materials for the retention of zinc from roof runoff of an eleven year old zinc roof was examined in a field study. As barrier materials geotextile and clinoptilolite were applied. Automatic samplers were used to take samples both at the inlet and at the outlet of the retention facility. Samples of twenty rain events were examined. Zinc was detected in the roof runoff in concentrations of up to 25 mg/L, and lead which originates from the tin‐solder was present in concentrations of up to 84 μg/L. Under most circumstances, a first flush could be observed for the analysed substances. No retention of heavy metals was observed, where only geotextile was used as a barrier material. The clinoptilolite filter was able to adsorb up to 97 % of zinc from the roof runoff.     

Zink in der Umwelt

Zinc in the Environment. In 1990 the world production of zinc ammounted to 7 Mio. metric tons. The main areas of application were: galvanization, alloys like brass and zinc metal. The content in the earth crust varies between 10–300 ppm zinc with a mean of 70 ppm. Uncontaminated surface waters contain less than 10 mg/m³ zinc. Apart from civilization air contains 1–10 ng zinc per m³. These background concentrations are exceeded by orders of magnitude in zinc deposit areas and where anthropogenic influences predominate. Accumulation can occur in sediments and sewage sludge. Molluscs and Algae also accumulate zinc. Zinc is essential for live. With normal food the zinc supply of man is just sufficient. Bioaccumulation of zinc towards man or chronic oversupply of man is not known. Zinc has no teratogenic or mutagenic effects, a suspicion on a carcinogenic effect proved wrong. In stockbreeding and plant cultivation a minimum supply of zinc is necessary. Plants are relatively less sensitive against higher soil contents of zinc. Considering the toxicological and ecotoxicological effects of zinc in the environment, the critical organismens are marine invertebratae like tubifex, daphnia, gammarus and algae. But normally only a minor part of the total zinc contest is biologically available, depending on salt content and pH of the waters.     

Beschreibung der Desorption von Zink aus Flußsedimenten mittels Freundlich- und Langmuir-Isothermen Mathematical Description of the Desorption of Zinc from River Sediments by NTA Using Freundlich and Langmuir Equations

Remobilization of zinc from sediments from Rhine and Neckar rivers with nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) in water has been studied in order to obtain a mathematical relation between quantities of mobilized zinc on sediments and concentration of zinc and NTA in aqueous solution. Remobilization has been measured by stirring the sediments for 70 hours in polyethylene flasks and analyzing dissolved zinc by AAS. Concentration of free zinc ions in solution is correlated with amount of zinc fixed on the sediments in form of adsorption equations by Freundlich and Langmuir and the linear equation. Whereas for the Rhine river sediment all correlations are of similar quality, the standard deviation for the linear correlation with the Neckar sediment is about twice as large as for the others. The adsorption energies on both sediments are similar, however, the adsorption capacity and therefore, the remobilized amount of zinc is larger for the Rhine sediment. For mathematical modelling of technical processes, eg., for technical decontamination of sediments the linear correlation may be recommended.     

Effects of Salinity and Mangrove Detritus on Desorption of Metals from Brackish Water Desorption of Metals from Brackish Water and Shrimp

Desorption and bioaccumulation of Cd, Zn, and Pb were studied using naturally contaminated sediment from a brackish water pond in the Sunderban Biosphere Reserve in India. Pattern of desorption of the metals from the sediment and bioaccumulation in fingerlings of the teleost Oreochromis mossambicusand postlarvae of the shrimp Penaeus monodon were studied as a function of salinity and loading of detritus of a mangrove plant. Effects of both salinity and loading of detritus on bioaccumulation of the metals were studied under two conditions: either the animals were allowed free access to the sediment or access was denied. Ninety‐six hour experiments showed that desorption of Cd and Pb from sediment into water increased with salinity of the medium while desorption of Zn decreased. Salinity of the medium also had a significant effect on the bioaccumulation of metals by fish; Cd and Pb accumulation decreased in saline medium while the accumulation of Zn increased. Conditions of access to sediment had no effect on the bioaccumulation of metals by fish; effect of interaction between salinity and access condition was also insignificant. The access conditions, however, significantly influenced accumulation of metal by the shrimp postlarvae. The effect of interaction between salinity and access condition was insignificant in influencing the bioaccumulation of all metals except Zn. The accumulation of Zn increased as a function of the salinity of the medium when shrimp postlarvae were allowed access to the sediment. Desorption of metals from sediment to water were below detection limits when detritus of a mangrove plant was added to the medium. Both the level of detritus and the conditions of access influenced accumulation of metals by fish, but the effect of interaction between the two factors were found to be insignificant. Shrimp postlarvae showed net accumulation only of Pb in the presence of detritus and the accumulation of Pb increased when the larvae were separated from the sediment. The results are important in understanding the mobility of metals between solid and aqueous phases in brackish water environments that experience periodic fluctuations in salinity and fluxes of organic load in the form of mangrove detritus.