Source apportionment of PAHs in surface sediments from Bohai Sea and adjacent area

Sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments from Bohai Sea and adjacent area were quantified by GC-MS, and sources of PAHs were apportioned based on a variety of data analysis methods. Thirteen PAHs were detected in all samples, excluding naphthalene (NAP), acenaphthylene (ACPY) and acenaphthene (ACP), which were not detected in some samples. The total concentrations of PAHs varied from 148.2710-9 to 1211.8110-9, with a mean value of 507.1310-9. A positive correlation exists between TOC and the total PAH concentrations (R=0.66, P=0.0002), suggesting that TOC content is an important controlling factor for distribution of PAHs in sediment. The proportion of 4~6 ring-PAHs was quite high, with a LMW/HMW value of 0.76, indicating that PAHs were mainly from pyrogenic sources. Molecular diagnostic indices showed that the PAHs were mainly from biomass, coal and petroleum combustion. Principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR) suggested that coal combustion, traffic (petroleum combustion), coke production and petroleum sources could be the primary PAH contributors, accounting for 54.3%, 28.6%, 13.4% and 3.7% of the total concentrations, respectively.