Incorporating sorption/desorption of organic pollutants into river water quality model

Article type: Research Article

Authors: LOU, Bao-feng | ZHU, Li-zhong | YANG, Kun

Affiliations: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Preliminary research was conducted about how to incorporate sorption/desorption of organic pollutants with suspended solids and sediments into single-chemical and one-dimensional water quality model of Jinghang Canal. Sedimentation-resuspension coefficient k_3 was deduced; characteristics of organic pollutants, concentrations and components of suspended solids/sediments and hydrological and hydraulic conditions were integrated into k_3 and further into river water quality model; impact of sorption/desorption of organic pollutants with suspended solids and sediments on prediction function of the model was discussed. Results demonstrated that this impact is pronounced for organic pollutants with relatively large K_{oc} and K_{ow}, especially when they are also conservative and f_{oc} of river suspended solids/sediments is high, and that incorporation of sorption/desorption of organic pollutants into river water quality model can improve its prediction accuracy.

Keywords: water quality model, sorption/desorption, sedimentation-resuspension coefficient

Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 559-563, 2004