Burgess R M, Perron M M, Cantwell M G, Ho K T, Serbst J R, Pelletier M C
United States Environmental Protection Agency, ORD/NHEERL Atlantic Ecology Division, 27 Tarzwell Dr., Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882, USA.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2004 Nov;47(4):440-7. doi: 10.1007/s00244-004-4003-3.
Ammonia occurs in marine waters including effluents, receiving waters, and sediment interstitial waters. At sufficiently high concentrations, ammonia can be toxic to aquatic species. Toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) methods provide researchers with tools for identifying aquatic toxicants. For identifying ammonia toxicity, there are several possible methods including pH alteration and volatilization, Ulva lactuca addition, microbial degradation, and zeolite addition. Zeolite addition has been used successfully in freshwater systems to decrease ammonia concentrations and toxicity for several decades. However, zeolite in marine systems has been used less because ions in the seawater interfere with zeolite's ability to adsorb ammonia. The objective of this study was to develop a zeolite method for removing ammonia from marine waters. To accomplish this objective, we performed a series of zeolite slurry and column chromatography studies to determine uptake rate and capacity and to evaluate the effects of salinity and pH on ammonia removal. We also assessed the interaction of zeolite with several toxic metals. Success of the methods was also evaluated by measuring toxicity to two marine species: the mysid Americamysis bahia and the amphipod Ampelisca abdita. Column chromatography proved to be effective at removing a wide range of ammonia concentrations under several experimental conditions. Conversely, the slurry method was inconsistent and variable in its overall performance in removing ammonia and cannot be recommended. The metals copper, lead, and zinc were removed by zeolite in both the slurry and column treatments. The zeolite column was successful in removing ammonia toxicity for both the mysid and the amphipod, whereas the slurry was less effective. This study demonstrated that zeolite column chromatography is a useful tool for conducting marine water TIEs to decrease ammonia concentrations and characterize toxicity.
氨存在于海水中，包括废水、受纳水体和沉积物间隙水。在足够高的浓度下，氨对水生物种可能有毒。毒性鉴定评估（TIE）方法为研究人员提供了识别水生毒物的工具。对于识别氨毒性，有几种可能的方法，包括改变pH值和挥发、添加石莼、微生物降解和添加沸石。几十年来，添加沸石已成功用于淡水系统中以降低氨浓度和毒性。然而，海水中的离子会干扰沸石吸附氨的能力，因此在海洋系统中使用沸石的情况较少。本研究的目的是开发一种从海水中去除氨的沸石方法。为实现这一目标，我们进行了一系列沸石浆液和柱色谱研究，以确定吸附速率和容量，并评估盐度和pH值对氨去除的影响。我们还评估了沸石与几种有毒金属的相互作用。通过测量对两种海洋物种的毒性来评估方法的成功性：糠虾美洲褐虾和双足类阿氏长臂虾。柱色谱法在几种实验条件下被证明能有效去除广泛范围的氨浓度。相反，浆液法在去除氨的整体性能上不一致且变化较大，不推荐使用。在浆液和柱处理中，铜、铅和锌等金属都被沸石去除。沸石柱成功去除了糠虾和双足类的氨毒性，而浆液的效果较差。本研究表明，沸石柱色谱法是进行海水TIEs以降低氨浓度和表征毒性的有用工具。
