The efficacy and ecological impact of mercury sorbents on the physiology and reproductive fitness of Daphnia magna

S. Power; A. Minet; P. Ku; A. Sexton; P. G. Matson; J. P. Marquardt; Z. W. Clark; A. Johs; T. J. Mathews; L. M. Stevenson

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139847

The efficacy and ecological impact of mercury sorbents on the physiology and reproductive fitness of Daphnia magna

S. Power
, A. Minet
, P. Ku
, A. Sexton
, P. G. Matson
, J. P. Marquardt
, Z. W. Clark
, A. Johs
, T. J. Mathews
, L. M. Stevenson

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination threatens ecosystems due to its bioaccumulation and toxicity. Effective and sustainable remediation strategies are essential, with carbon-based sorbents like biochar (BC) and activated carbon (AC) gaining attention for their high adsorption capacity and cost-effectiveness. However, their ecological impacts remain poorly understood. This study evaluates the Hg removal efficacy and ecological effects of three sorbents—BC, granular AC (GAC), and AC fiber (ACF)—in a flow-through column system with and without Hg additions. We tested Hg removal at two concentrations (1 and 4 µg/L Hg) and assessed chronic exposure effects on a sentinel and sensitive freshwater organism, Daphnia magna, over 30 days of exposure to the columns’ effluent. GAC removed 100 % of Hg, while BC and ACF achieved 99 % removal. The ACF + 4 µg/L Hg effluent induced 70 % lethality in D. magna after nearly three weeks of exposure, while the GAC effluent significantly reduced fecundity, even in the absence of Hg exposure. In contrast, the BC effluent enhanced reproductive output, likely due to inputs of carbon and nitrogen in the effluent. These findings highlight the need to balance Hg removal efficacy with ecological safety, emphasizing the importance of considering both remediation effectiveness and potential environmental impacts.

Original language	English
Article number	139847
Journal	Journal of Hazardous Materials
Volume	498
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139847
State	Published - Oct 15 2025

Funding

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05- 00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the work for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the submitted manuscript version of this work, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( https://energy.gov/doe-public-access-plan ). This work was funded by the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (ORO DOE) and URS CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) and is a product of ORNL's Mercury Remediation Technology Development Program. We would like to thank Xiangping Yin for assistance with carbon analyses.

Keywords

Activated carbon
Biochar
Daphnia
Ecotoxicity
Hg remediation
Sorbents

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10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139847

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title = "The efficacy and ecological impact of mercury sorbents on the physiology and reproductive fitness of Daphnia magna",

abstract = "Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination threatens ecosystems due to its bioaccumulation and toxicity. Effective and sustainable remediation strategies are essential, with carbon-based sorbents like biochar (BC) and activated carbon (AC) gaining attention for their high adsorption capacity and cost-effectiveness. However, their ecological impacts remain poorly understood. This study evaluates the Hg removal efficacy and ecological effects of three sorbents—BC, granular AC (GAC), and AC fiber (ACF)—in a flow-through column system with and without Hg additions. We tested Hg removal at two concentrations (1 and 4 µg/L Hg) and assessed chronic exposure effects on a sentinel and sensitive freshwater organism, Daphnia magna, over 30 days of exposure to the columns{\textquoteright} effluent. GAC removed 100 \% of Hg, while BC and ACF achieved 99 \% removal. The ACF + 4 µg/L Hg effluent induced 70 \% lethality in D. magna after nearly three weeks of exposure, while the GAC effluent significantly reduced fecundity, even in the absence of Hg exposure. In contrast, the BC effluent enhanced reproductive output, likely due to inputs of carbon and nitrogen in the effluent. These findings highlight the need to balance Hg removal efficacy with ecological safety, emphasizing the importance of considering both remediation effectiveness and potential environmental impacts.",

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AU - Minet, A.

AU - Ku, P.

AU - Sexton, A.

AU - Matson, P. G.

AU - Marquardt, J. P.

AU - Clark, Z. W.

AU - Johs, A.

AU - Mathews, T. J.

AU - Stevenson, L. M.

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N2 - Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination threatens ecosystems due to its bioaccumulation and toxicity. Effective and sustainable remediation strategies are essential, with carbon-based sorbents like biochar (BC) and activated carbon (AC) gaining attention for their high adsorption capacity and cost-effectiveness. However, their ecological impacts remain poorly understood. This study evaluates the Hg removal efficacy and ecological effects of three sorbents—BC, granular AC (GAC), and AC fiber (ACF)—in a flow-through column system with and without Hg additions. We tested Hg removal at two concentrations (1 and 4 µg/L Hg) and assessed chronic exposure effects on a sentinel and sensitive freshwater organism, Daphnia magna, over 30 days of exposure to the columns’ effluent. GAC removed 100 % of Hg, while BC and ACF achieved 99 % removal. The ACF + 4 µg/L Hg effluent induced 70 % lethality in D. magna after nearly three weeks of exposure, while the GAC effluent significantly reduced fecundity, even in the absence of Hg exposure. In contrast, the BC effluent enhanced reproductive output, likely due to inputs of carbon and nitrogen in the effluent. These findings highlight the need to balance Hg removal efficacy with ecological safety, emphasizing the importance of considering both remediation effectiveness and potential environmental impacts.

AB - Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination threatens ecosystems due to its bioaccumulation and toxicity. Effective and sustainable remediation strategies are essential, with carbon-based sorbents like biochar (BC) and activated carbon (AC) gaining attention for their high adsorption capacity and cost-effectiveness. However, their ecological impacts remain poorly understood. This study evaluates the Hg removal efficacy and ecological effects of three sorbents—BC, granular AC (GAC), and AC fiber (ACF)—in a flow-through column system with and without Hg additions. We tested Hg removal at two concentrations (1 and 4 µg/L Hg) and assessed chronic exposure effects on a sentinel and sensitive freshwater organism, Daphnia magna, over 30 days of exposure to the columns’ effluent. GAC removed 100 % of Hg, while BC and ACF achieved 99 % removal. The ACF + 4 µg/L Hg effluent induced 70 % lethality in D. magna after nearly three weeks of exposure, while the GAC effluent significantly reduced fecundity, even in the absence of Hg exposure. In contrast, the BC effluent enhanced reproductive output, likely due to inputs of carbon and nitrogen in the effluent. These findings highlight the need to balance Hg removal efficacy with ecological safety, emphasizing the importance of considering both remediation effectiveness and potential environmental impacts.

KW - Activated carbon

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The efficacy and ecological impact of mercury sorbents on the physiology and reproductive fitness of Daphnia magna

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