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NOTES Trace Element Content of Northern Ontario Peat Walter A. Glooschenko* and John A. Capobiancot H Peat samples were collected at 0-20- and 20-40-cm
depths from several peatland ecosystems located in northern Ontario, Canada. Analysis was made for the trace metals Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Cd, and Hg. Concentration values in general were in the low ppm range and did not significantly differ in terms of peatland type or depth except for Pb. This element was significantly higher in surface peats in bogs and fens. Concentrations of metals in peats found in the study were equivalent to those in US coals, suggesting caution during combustion in terms of potential atmospheric input of metals. The combustion of peat as a source of energy occurs in several northern countries, mainly the USSR, Ireland, and Finland (1). Such power plants are up to 600-MW capacity, similar to that of large coal-burning facilities (2). Interest in the use of peat for energy production either by direct combustion or by gasification is increasing in North America, especially in the states of Minnesota and North Carolina, where extensive peat deposits occur (3). However, most peat areas are located in Canada, with 170 X lo6 ha of peat reserves, and the state of Alaska, with an estimated 30 X loe ha (1). Much of these reserves are located remote from population centers and may only serve as local energy sources. Peat can contain relatively high trace element concentrations, and caution has been suggested in using such as an energy source (2,4). However, few published data are available for metals in North American peats except for the Okeefenokee Swamp in Georgia (5). Peat is a precursor to coal, and coal combustion can emit large amounts of trace metals mainly associated with fly ash (6-10). The purpose of this study is to determine the trace metal content of peat.
Sampling and Analysis The peat samples collected in this study were obtained from the Kinoje Lake area located in northern Ontario, Canada, at 5lo34’N, 8Oo48W. This area lies in the Hudson Bay Lowland, a vast peatland complex of 30 X lo6 ha, or approximately 18% of Canada’s estimated peatland acreage (1). Three major peatland ecosystem types occur in the region: bogs, fens, and swamps. Bogs are ombrotrophic; Le., the amount of peat accumulation that has occurred leads to no mineral soil water exposure, and all chemical substances entering are derived solely from atmospheric precipitation. Fens and swamps are minerotrophic and in contact with mineral soil water; the main difference between these two ecosystem types is that *Address correspondence to this author at the following address: Ecological Impact Section,Aquatic Ecology Division, National Water Research Institute, P.O. Box 5050, Burlington, Ontario, Canada L7R 4A6. f Department of Analytical Inorganic Chemistry, University of Generva, Switzerland. 0013-936X/82/0916-0187$01.25/0
Table I. Results of Metal Analysis of Peat Samples av no. concn, of element ppm range SD samples Zn 31 5-87 17 69 7 67 Pb 16 3-31 5 69 cu 7 2-20 2 69 Cr 3 0.3-9 Cd 1 0.1-7 1 68 0.01-0.11 0.03 12 Hg 0.06 Table 11. Depth Distribution of Metals in Peat with Respect t o Ecosystem Type element concn t SD, mg kg-’ peatland depth, n Pb Cu Cr Cd Zn type cm bog 0-20 11 1 8 k 7 4 2 2 3 k 1 2 2 1 3 5 t 2 0 8 7 + 6 3 c l 2 + 1 l t l 21+20 20-40 fen 0-20 11 2 1 + 7 7 t 5 3 + 1 I t 1 3 8 t 1 7 swamp
20-40 0-20 20-40
12 8 + 7 6 2 4 4 r 2 1 t 1 2 0 t 1 5 4 1 5 t 4 7 t 2 4 + 4 1 + 0 30.116 4 1 2 t 5 9 + 3 4 + 3 4 + 3 32t27
swamps are wooded, while fens are dominated by sedges with limited grasses, reeds, shrubs, and trees. The area of this study is very sparsely populated, and utilization of such peat does not appear feasible at the present time because of economic, technical, and environmental problems (11). However, such limitations may be overcome at a later time when other energy sources become limited. During the summer of 1976, the area was visited by helicopter and peat samples collected from 23 sites; samples were split into living mosses, peat from 0-20- and 20-40-cm depth. Peat accumulation rates in the area have been estimated at 0.5-0.65 mm yr-’ (11). Thus, these depths correspond approximately to a minimum age of 0-300 and 300-600 yr, respectiveIy. Samples were collected by hand using a shovel and were handled with plastic gloves to prevent contamination. They were kept under refrigeration at 4 OC until returning to the laboratory where they were kept frozen until analysis. They were then thawed, oven-dried at 90 “C for 48 h, and ground to 250 pm in a Wiley grinding mill. The samples were then wet-ashed with HN03/HC104,and the elements Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, and Cd run by atomic absorption (AA) (12). Mercury (Hg) was run by flameless AA on a limited number of samples.
Results Results of trace element analyses of peat are presented in Table I, based on all peats analyzed without regard to depth sampled. In general, all results were in the low ppm range with Zn showing the highest mean concentration. Standard deviation values were high, but typical of such environmental samples. Copies of the total numerical data are available from the authors.
0 1982 American Chemical Society
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Table 111. Comparison of Data with Previous Studies of Peats and Coals'" 0keefenokee coal (14) ele- this Swamp peats ment study (5) Illinois Appalachian Western Zn 31 14 250 25 7 Pb 16 13 32 6 3 Cu 6 25 14 18 10 Cr 3 21 38 20 9 1 2 0.2 0.2 Cd 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.09 Hg 0.06 '" All results in ppm dry weight basis.
The data were further analyzed in terms of peatland ecosystem type-bog, fen, or swamp-and depth of sample in Table 11. Such results were subjected to both a parametric two-way ANOVA statistical test and a KruskalWallis nonparametric ANOVA test. No significant difference was found between bogs, fens, and swamps for either the 0-20- or 20-40-cm depth for the elements analyzed. Also for @ given ecosystem type, no significant difference was found in element concentration between 0-20 and 40-20 cm for Cu, Cr, Cd, or Zn based upon both a Student's t test of the data and a nonparametric Mann-Whitney test. However, P b was significantly higher at the 0-20-cm depth in bogs (p < 0.05) and fens (p < 0.001) while in swamps no significant difference occurred based upon the Mann-Whitney test. Concentrations of Zn were higher in surface peak in bogs and fens, but this was not a significant difference. Discussion
Fossil fuel combustion is of concern in terms of metal input to the atmosphere. In fact, studies of'metals in bogs have been used to assess patterns of atmospheric deposition of metals (13). Of particular interest is the preferential release of such metals included in the study as Hg, Cd, Pb, and Zn (6-10).Results of this study are compared with other North American peats (5) and coal (14) in Table 111. Compared to Okeefenokee Swamp peats (51, this study found somewhat higher concentrations of Zn, while Cu, Cr, and Hg were lower. As for comparisons with coal
188 Envlron. Scl. Technol., Vol. 16, No. 3, 1982
(14),Illinois coals were higher in certain metals, especially Zn, Pb, and Cd, than other US coals. Peat samples were of the same order of magnitude as Appalachian and Western coals in Zn and Hg, lower in Cu, Cr, and Cd, but higher in Pb (except for Illinois coals). These results would suggest that use of peat as a source of fossil fuel for combustion would present the same concerns as coal in terms of trace metal emissions to the environment. Acknowledgments
We thank T. Mayer and M. Gregory for their assistance in chemical analysis of peats. Dr. J. Jeglum of the Canadian Forestry Service provided much of the ecological advice for this study. Literature Cited (1) Sjors, H.Ambio 1980,9,303. (2) Lindstrom, 0.Ambio 1980,9,309. (3) Carter, L. J. Science 1978,199,33. (4) Ylirvokanen, J. Proc. Int. Peat Congr., 5th, 1976 1976,276. ( 5 ) Casagrande, D.J.; Erchull, L. D. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta i976,40,387. (6) Bertine, K. K.; Goldberg, E. D. Science 1971,173, 233. (7) Davison, R.L.; Natusch, D. F. S.; Wallace, J. R. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1978,8, 1107. (8) Kaakinen, J. W.; Jorden, R. M.; Lawasani, M. H.; West, R. E. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1974,9,862. (9) Klein, D. H.; Andren, A. W.; Carter, J. A.; Emery, J. F.; Feldman, C.; Fulkerson, W.; Lyon, W. S.; Ogle, J. C.; Talmi, Y.; Van Hook, R. J.; Bolton, N. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1975, 9, 973. (10) Wiener, J. G. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 1979,12,343. (11) Wickware, G. M.; Cowell, D. W.; Sims, R. A. Proc. Int. Peat Congr. 6th, in press. (12) Glooschenko,W. A.; Capobianco, J. A.; Mayer, T.;Gregory, M. Proc. Int. Peat Congr. 6th, in press. (13) Glooschenko, W. A.; Capobianco, J. A. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 1980,10,215. (14) Gluskoter, H.J.; Ruch, R. R.; Miller, W. G.; Cahill, R. A.; Dreher, G. B.; Kuhn, J. K. Ill. State Geol. Surv., Circ. 1976, No. 499. Received for review May 22,1981.Accepted October 27,1981.
