Effect of linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) on the mineralization, metabolism and uptake of 14C-phenanthrene in a model ecosystem (water–lava–plant–air)

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS, 200 mg l−1) on the fate of phenanthrene in a model ecosystem “water–lava–hydrophytes–air”. The experiments were conducted using two closed cultivation chamber systems. Rushes (Juncus effesus) were selected as a representative hydrophyte. Five hundred micrograms per liter of phenanthrene in a culture solution containing a 14C-activity of 75 μCi per chamber was applied (i) to investigate the degradation of the labeled test substance and the transfer processes within the system; (ii) to determine the mass-balance possible and (iii) to detect the occurrence of volatile test substances, their volatile metabolites and the degradation end-product CO2 in the gas phase. Most of the applied 14C-activity was found in the plant (41–45%), in which ≈95% was associated with plant roots and ≈5% with shoots. The 14C-activity recovered in the form of VOCs and CO2 was measured in lava (18–29%, 8–11%), and in the culture solution (10–14% and 1%), respectively. Majority of the applied 14C-activity existed in two forms, i.e. (1) polar metabolites (26%), of which 91% were found in plant roots, and (2) un-extractable residues (23%), most of which were in plant roots (40%) and bounded to lava (58%). The presence of LAS significantly increased the volatilization of phenanthrene and its metabolites, inhibited its mineralization and decreased the level of 14C-activity in lava. Moreover, LAS reduced the phenanthrene level in plant roots.