Colloid-facilitated release of polybrominated diphenyl ethers at an e-waste recycling site: evidence from undisturbed soil core leaching experiments

Highlights

● Surface infiltration results in downward migration of PBDEs in soil core.

● Effluent BDE-209 concentration correlates well with colloid concentration.

● Colloidal and PBDE release from soil cores was promoted at lower ionic strength.

● Colloid-facilitated transport of PBDEs poses a risk to groundwater quality.

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a class of persistent organic pollutants, have been frequently detected in soil at e-waste recycling sites. However, the key factors controlling the transport of PBDEs from surface soil to the vadose zone and groundwater are unclear. Here, colloid-enhanced leaching of PBDEs from undisturbed soil cores collected at an e-waste recycling site in Tianjin, China, is reported. Spatially heterogeneous release of colloids and PBDEs was observed in all the tested soil cores under chemical and hydrodynamic perturbations, indicating the presence of preferential flow paths. Colloid concentration in the effluent significantly increased as ionic strength decreased (from 10 to 0.01 mmol/L), probably due to the stronger electrostatic repulsion between colloidal particles and the soil matrix at lower ionic strength. In contrast, colloid mobilization was not significantly affected by the changes in pH of the influent (from 4.0 to 10.0) and flow rate (from a Darcy velocity of 1.5 to 6.0 cm/h). The concentrations of 2,2′,3,3′,4,4′,5,5′,6,6′-decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209), the predominant PBDE congener at the site, detected in the leachate (ranging from 1.09 to 3.43 ng/L) were much lower than previously reported results from packed column leaching tests, and were positively correlated with colloid concentrations. This indicates that remobilization of colloids at e-waste recycling sites can promote the leaching and downward migration of PBDEs from surface soil. The findings highlight the potential risk of surface soil PBDE contamination to groundwater quality and call for further understanding of colloid-facilitated transport for predicting the fate of PBDEs at e-waste recycling sites.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Polybrominated diphenyl ether / Colloid-facilitated transport / E-waste recycling site / Undisturbed soil core / Groundwater quality

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFC1804202), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 22020102004), the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau (China) (No. 21JCZDJC00280), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (China) (No. 63233056), and the Ministry of Education of China (No. T2017002).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-024-1781-x and is accessible for authorized users.

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