Odor compounds and the related impact factors in Tangxi River, Hefei

Abstract

The spatio-temporal variation of odor compounds, together with water quality parameters and composition and quantity of algae, were monitored in Tangxi River, Hefei City, during 2014-2015.The results showed that the odor in Tangxi River outbroke in summer and the highest concentration of 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin were 4909 and 197 ng/L, respectively. Extensive algae composition analysis revealed that Cyanophyta was the dominant species in autumn and winter, while Euglenophyta, Chlorophyta or Cryptophyta were the dominant species in spring and summer. Principal component analysis showed that the water quality was influent by light, organic compound, microbial activity, nitrogen and phosphorus in water. Additionally, significant relationships were detected between nitrogen concentration and odor compounds, which indicated that nitrogen was one of the main reasons for odor problems in Tangxi River.