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Simulation of the Environmental Fate and Transformation of Nano Copper Oxide in a Freshwater Environment
Citation:
Ross, B. AND C. Knightes. Simulation of the Environmental Fate and Transformation of Nano Copper Oxide in a Freshwater Environment. ACS ES&T Water. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 2(9):1532–1543, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.2c00157
Impact/Purpose:
The use of nanomaterials has increased over the years, which has resulted in increased potential for their release into the environment. One of these such nanomaterials is nano copper oxide, which is used in paints for boats to reduce fouling. The nano copper oxide in the paint slowly dissolves when the boat is placed in water. It is uncertain what the short and long-term impact of the release of this nano copper oxide into surfaces are. This research serves to predict what happens when the nano copper oxide dissolves into a lake over time. We use a mathematical model to predict the concentrations of nano copper oxide in the lake water as well as the accumulation in the sediments over time. Additionally, this work looks at the transformation of nano copper oxide into copper ion and its subsequent concentrations in the water column and the sediments.
Description:
Production of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) has rapidly increased, yet uncertainty exists regarding the full extent of their environmental implications. This study investigates the fate, transformation, and speciation of nano copper oxide (nanoCuO) released into Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, over 101 years. Using the Advanced Toxicant module of the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP8), we assessed the accumulation and mass proportions of nanoCuO and Cu2+ (the product of nanoCuO’s dissolution) in the water column and sediments. Our simulations suggest that when nanoCuO is released into Lake Waccamaw, the highest concentrations of both nanoCuO and Cu2+ are found in the surface sediments, followed by the subsurface sediments and the water column. Simulating different heteroaggregation attachment efficiencies of nanoCuO suggested that increases in attachment efficiency increased nanoCuO concentrations and mass proportions in the water column and sediments, while Cu2+ exhibited the opposite trends. After 101 years, most nanoCuO in the sediments was attached to particulate organic matter and clay particles at all attachment efficiencies, while low attachment efficiency slowed aggregate formation in the water column. Our results highlight the influence that heteroaggregation has on the behavior of nanoCuO inputs and suggest the potential for legacy contamination of nanoCuO and Cu2+ in sediments.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Simulation of the Environmental Fate and Transformation of Nano Copper Oxide in a Freshwater Environment
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsestwater.2c00157