The effects of flow rate and temperature on SPMD measurements of bioavailable PAHs in seawater.

This work investigates the dependence of the sampling rate (Rs) of semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) on flow rate and temperature. The in situ Rs values were obtained using performance reference compounds (PRCs) with weighted polynomial regression and used to estimate the bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in seawater. The in situ Rs values did not vary with flow rate and temperature. The empirical equation of the Rs value from the SPMDs was established. This infers that PRCs could be avoided by using an established empirical equation under similar field conditions. The sum of the bioavailable PAHs ranged from 0.281 to 0.611ngL(-1) on the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait and from 0.438 to 1.10ngL(-1) on the western side. Distinct sources and toxicity of these bioavailable PAHs were observed and mainly resulted from different types of energy consumption.