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Ammonium release characteristics of the sediments from the shallow lakes in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River region, China

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Ammonium release from sediments has significant effects on the water quality in eutrophic lakes. In this study, the ammonium release kinetics and adsorption–desorption processes were investigated in 13 sediments of 6 shallow lakes from the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River region, China. The results show that First Order Model best described the ammonium release process, the maximal release capacity had a strong correlation with organic matter (OM), cationic exchange capacity (CEC), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP). But it only had a weak correlation with Fe, Ca and Al. The ammonium release capacity in more polluted sediments was higher than that in less polluted sediments. The average release rate within 0–5 min was the highest among the experimental period, the amount released within 0–5 min accounted for approximately 50–70% of the total release capacity. The ammonium release rate had a significant and positive correlation with OM. But it did not have a strong correlation with TN, TP, Fe, Ca and Al. The ammonium potential release capacity (obtained when the water/sediment ratio was about 2,500) had strong and positive relation with OM and maximal release capacity, and it may provide useful information for the sediment release risk assessment. Henry Model best described the ammonium sorption isotherms, and ammonium adsorption–desorption equilibrium concentration can be considered as the ammonium release threshold to assess the release risk in the sediments.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the financial support from China’s national basic research program: Studies on the Process of Eutrophication of Lakes and Mechanism of the Blooming of Blue Green Alga (2002CB412304).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Bei**g, 100083, China

    Juan Wang & Shuquan Zhu

  2. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control, Research Center of Lake Eco-environment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Chaoyang District, Anwai Da Yangfang, Bei**g, 100012, China

    Juan Wang, Shengrui Wang & **angcan **

  3. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China

    Fengchang Wu

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  1. Juan Wang
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  2. Shengrui Wang
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Correspondence to **angcan **.

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Wang, J., Wang, S., **, X. et al. Ammonium release characteristics of the sediments from the shallow lakes in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River region, China. Environ Geol 55, 37–45 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0962-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0962-9

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