Citation:

Ross, Bianca N. AND Christopher D. Knightes. The environmental fate, transformation, and speciation of nano-copper oxide in a freshwater environment. In Proceedings, 11th International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software, Brussels, BELGIUM, July 05 - 08, 2022. Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 1-9, (2022).

Impact/Purpose:

The use of nanomaterials has increased dramatically over the years. As the use of nanomaterials increase, there is an increased release of these chemicals into the environment, yet it is uncertain what happens to them when they are released into the environment. One nanomaterial being used more frequently is nano copper oxide, which is used in paints on boats to protect them fouling. This research looks into what happens to the nano copper oxide after it is applied to boats and those boats are using recreational waters, like lakes. Here we present the development of mathematical model to investigate the concentrations of nano copper oxide as it dissolves from the paints into an example lake and its daughter product as nano copper oxide breaks down into copper ion. This work serves to predict concentrations in the lake water column as well as the underlying sediments over time and investigates different scenarios based on different properties governing the nano copper oxide characteristics.

Description:

The use and production of engineered nanomaterials have grown rapidly over the past few decades due to their unique properties and versatility.  However, the full extent of nanomaterials’ impact on the environment is currently unknown.  In this study, we use the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP, version 8.32) to investigate the fate and transformation of nano-copper oxide (nanoCuO), a common component of antifouling boat-bottom paints, in a freshwater environment over the course of 50 years.  WASP serves as a powerful modeling framework allowing users to create dynamic, mechanistic water quality predictions.  WASP’s recently upgraded Advanced Toxicant module allows for novel investigations of nanomaterials, including the parameterization of heteroaggregation and dissolution processes.  To our knowledge, this study is the first to use WASP to investigate the fate and transport of any copper-based nanomaterial.  In addition to nanoCuO, we also modeled the product of its dissolution (ionic copper, Cu2+), which is known for its toxic effects to aquatic organisms.  Using WASP, we modeled variables, including dissolved organic carbon and suspended particulate matter, and processes governing the behavior of both nanoCuO and Cu2+ released to the surface waters and sediments of Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina (USA) from boats coated with nanoCuO bottom paint.  We also simulated water temperature to investigate the effects that temperature has on the behavior of nanoCuO and Cu2+, as well as a recovery period to evaluate system response to the removal of the nanoCuO load.  After 50 years, Cu2+ concentrations were higher than nanoCuO concentrations in the water column, while the opposite was true in two sediment layers.  After 50 years of a simulated recovery period, neither nanoCuO nor Cu2+ concentrations had reached pre-contamination levels.  Our results highlight the value of modeling tools such as WASP for the environmental risk assessment of nanomaterials.

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