Distribution and Depositional History of Aliphatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in River Sediments from Sarawak River, Kuching, Sarawak

Widespread of petroleum hydrocarbon such as aliphatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) will have harmful effects on ecosystem. However, information regarding environmental status of Sarawak River has been rare. Thus, this study was carried out to determine the spatial and ve...

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Main Author: Ngu, Peggy Zhen Zhen
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 2016
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Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/26801/1/Peggy%20Ngu%20Zhen%20Zhen%20ft.pdf
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/26801/
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spelling my.unimas.ir.268012023-05-19T08:36:16Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/26801/ Distribution and Depositional History of Aliphatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in River Sediments from Sarawak River, Kuching, Sarawak Ngu, Peggy Zhen Zhen GE Environmental Sciences Widespread of petroleum hydrocarbon such as aliphatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) will have harmful effects on ecosystem. However, information regarding environmental status of Sarawak River has been rare. Thus, this study was carried out to determine the spatial and vertical distribution of aliphatic and PAHs as well as to reconstruct the depositional history of these hydrocarbons in sediments. Eight surface sediment samples and five core sediment samples were collected along Sarawak River. The sediment samples were Soxhlet extracted by using dichloromethane and fractionated into aliphatic hydrocarbons (F1), PAHs (F2) and polar compounds (F3) on silica gel column chromatography. Both F1 and F2 fractions were analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID), while F3 was analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). This study has discovered that the n-alkanes in estuary areas (SR1 and SR2) are contributed by biogenic inputs but other stations especially SR4 and SR5 are predominantly polluted by anthropogenic influence. PAHs in sediments samples were dominated by the high molecular weight PAHs (4 to 6 rings). PAHs in core sediments are characterized by a major pyrolytic influence and minor petrogenic contamination and will occasionally pose biological impairment. The presence of oil in surface sediment of Sarawak River is confirmed by the identification of the hopane and steranes series. In conclusion, Sarawak River showed low to high level of petroleum contamination. Carbon dating analysis of sediments, quantitative analysis on hydrocarbons biomarkers and derivatization on polar fractions should be carried out in order to improve current study. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 2016 Thesis NonPeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/26801/1/Peggy%20Ngu%20Zhen%20Zhen%20ft.pdf Ngu, Peggy Zhen Zhen (2016) Distribution and Depositional History of Aliphatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in River Sediments from Sarawak River, Kuching, Sarawak. Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
institution Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
building Centre for Academic Information Services (CAIS)
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
content_source UNIMAS Institutional Repository
url_provider http://ir.unimas.my/
language English
topic GE Environmental Sciences
spellingShingle GE Environmental Sciences
Ngu, Peggy Zhen Zhen
Distribution and Depositional History of Aliphatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in River Sediments from Sarawak River, Kuching, Sarawak
description Widespread of petroleum hydrocarbon such as aliphatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) will have harmful effects on ecosystem. However, information regarding environmental status of Sarawak River has been rare. Thus, this study was carried out to determine the spatial and vertical distribution of aliphatic and PAHs as well as to reconstruct the depositional history of these hydrocarbons in sediments. Eight surface sediment samples and five core sediment samples were collected along Sarawak River. The sediment samples were Soxhlet extracted by using dichloromethane and fractionated into aliphatic hydrocarbons (F1), PAHs (F2) and polar compounds (F3) on silica gel column chromatography. Both F1 and F2 fractions were analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID), while F3 was analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). This study has discovered that the n-alkanes in estuary areas (SR1 and SR2) are contributed by biogenic inputs but other stations especially SR4 and SR5 are predominantly polluted by anthropogenic influence. PAHs in sediments samples were dominated by the high molecular weight PAHs (4 to 6 rings). PAHs in core sediments are characterized by a major pyrolytic influence and minor petrogenic contamination and will occasionally pose biological impairment. The presence of oil in surface sediment of Sarawak River is confirmed by the identification of the hopane and steranes series. In conclusion, Sarawak River showed low to high level of petroleum contamination. Carbon dating analysis of sediments, quantitative analysis on hydrocarbons biomarkers and derivatization on polar fractions should be carried out in order to improve current study.
format Thesis
author Ngu, Peggy Zhen Zhen
author_facet Ngu, Peggy Zhen Zhen
author_sort Ngu, Peggy Zhen Zhen
title Distribution and Depositional History of Aliphatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in River Sediments from Sarawak River, Kuching, Sarawak
title_short Distribution and Depositional History of Aliphatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in River Sediments from Sarawak River, Kuching, Sarawak
title_full Distribution and Depositional History of Aliphatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in River Sediments from Sarawak River, Kuching, Sarawak
title_fullStr Distribution and Depositional History of Aliphatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in River Sediments from Sarawak River, Kuching, Sarawak
title_full_unstemmed Distribution and Depositional History of Aliphatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in River Sediments from Sarawak River, Kuching, Sarawak
title_sort distribution and depositional history of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in river sediments from sarawak river, kuching, sarawak
publisher Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
publishDate 2016
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/26801/1/Peggy%20Ngu%20Zhen%20Zhen%20ft.pdf
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/26801/
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score 13.211869