Major and trace element geochemistry of Korean bottled waters

Abstract

The Korean bottled water market has continuously expanded during the last 25 years. However, in-depth studies of its geochemistry have not been conducted. Four types of bottled water manufactured in South Korea (i.e., natural mineral water, NMW; functional water, FW; carbonated water, CW; and desalinated seawater, DSW) were investigated to classify the water type, verify the accuracy of the ion contents detailed on the bottle labels, and decipher the origin of the water sources using major and trace elements and their isotopes. The waters was classified into three types: Ca-HCO3, Ca(Mg)-Cl, and Na-HCO3. NMW and FW are mainly of the Ca-HCO3 type. Our findings indicate that Korean bottled water chemistry is associated with lithological features and manufacturing processes; NMW is closely related to lithology while FW and DSW are strongly affected by manufacturing processes. Unlike major ions, trace elements cannot be used to decipher Korean bottled water chemistry because they show little apparent relationship with lithology. Regardless of the water chemistry, typical isotopic signals corresponding to intrinsic water were observed in all of the samples, indicating that groundwater and seawater were the sources of Korean bottled water.