School of Energy & Environmental Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Resource-Oriented Treatment of Industrial Pollutants, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, 100083 Beijing, China.
Environment and Sustainability Institute and Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, U.K.
Environ Sci Technol. 2020 Dec 1;54(23):15097-15107. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c03368. Epub 2020 Nov 9.
This study reports on the compositional diversity of organic compounds in metal(loid)-bearing tailings samples from both active and abandoned tailings ponds. Tailings samples were qualitatively analyzed by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS). In addition, the priority PAHs (16), PAEs (6), and phenols (2) were quantitatively analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We attribute the presence of some of aromatic organics in studied tailings ponds to particular sources. Mineral floatation reagents are likely the major sources of small-ring aromatics in tailings ponds, and products from metallurgical processing and burning of fossil fuels in the mining area or further afield are also possible contributors and might be the main source of large-ring aromatics. We found that tailings ponds abandoned for decades can still have organics concentrations at levels of concern. Large-ring aromatics are generally more toxic than other contaminants, and these were more abundant in abandoned tailings ponds. This suggests that these large-ring organics do not readily decompose or biodegrade into less toxic byproducts, as do volatiles and many other organic compounds. Our aromatic contaminants database provides an important starting point for researchers to investigate and compare similar contaminants that might be also present in other tailings ponds and emphasizes the necessity of considering their transformations over time.
本研究报告了来自活性和废弃尾矿池的含金属（类）尾矿样品中有机化合物的组成多样性。通过全二维气相色谱飞行时间质谱（GC×GC-TOFMS）对尾矿样品进行了定性分析。此外，还使用气相色谱-质谱法（GC-MS）对优先多环芳烃（16 种）、邻苯二甲酸酯（6 种）和酚类（2 种）进行了定量分析。我们认为研究中尾矿池中的一些芳香有机物来自特定的来源。浮选药剂可能是尾矿池中小环芳烃的主要来源，而矿区或更远地区冶金加工和化石燃料燃烧的产物也可能是潜在的贡献者，并且可能是大环芳烃的主要来源。我们发现，废弃数十年的尾矿池仍可能含有值得关注的有机污染物浓度。大环芳烃通常比其他污染物毒性更大，而在废弃的尾矿池中则更为丰富。这表明这些大环有机物不易分解或生物降解为毒性较小的副产物，而许多其他有机化合物则具有挥发性和易分解的特点。我们的芳香族污染物数据库为研究人员提供了一个重要的起点，可用于研究和比较其他尾矿池可能存在的类似污染物，并强调了考虑其随时间转化的必要性。
