Elskens, M.

Malambala, E.

Open Marine Archive

Modelling the chemical speciation of trace metals in surface waters 
of the river Zenne 
Malambala Enos1 and Marc Elskens2 
1 MSc Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management (Oceans and Lakes), Faculty of Bio-
engineering Sciences, Free University of Brussels (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, Room 8 F 504 B, B-1050 
Brussels, Belgium 
E-mail: Enos.Malambala@vub.ac.be  
2 Laboratory of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 
B-1050, Brussels, Belgium 
 
Trace metal speciation in aquatic environments is inherently complex due to the large number of 
possible interactions of the metal with dissolved and particulate components. However, adsorption 
on solid surfaces and formation of metal-ligand complexes plays important roles in controlling 
metal fate and behaviour. These reactions for example modify the bioavailability, and hence toxicity 
of the metal towards biota. Speciation study provides information on potential metal bioavailability 
under various environmental conditions and, therefore, may support environmental management 
decisions. However, no single analytical method can provide a detailed description of all the species 
involved, but will measure a certain proportion of the total complexes (Sigg et al., 2006). The 
objective of this study is to describe and understand the metal speciation in the river Zenne, a 
complex and heterogeneous system influenced by the Brussels’ sewage disposal and characterised 
by a strong human impact on a small catchment (i.e. 1260 inhab/km²). 
 
Geochemical codes for equilibrium modelling with Visual MINTEQ will be used to predict metal 
speciation in the Zenne, as well as the impact of incidental discharges in the Brussels’ region. The 
model will be applied totime seriesmeasurements gatheredfrom September 2009 to July 2011 using 
longitudinal profiles between Lembeek and Heffen (Belgium). 
 
References  
Laura Sigg, Frank Black, Jacques Buffle, Juncao, Rob Cleven, William Davison, Josep Galceran, Peggy 
Gunkel, Erwin Kalis, David Kistler, Michel Martin, Stephane Noël, Yusuf Nur, Niksa Odzak, 
Jaume Puy, Willem Van Riemsdijk, Erwin Temminghoff, Mary-Lou Tercier-Waeber, Stefanie 
Toepperwien, Raewyn M. Town, Emily Unsworth, Kent W. Warken, Liping Weng, Hanbin Xue and 
Hao Zhang. 2006. Comparison of Analytical Techniques for Dynamic Trace Metal Speciation in 
Natural Freshwaters. Environm. Sci. Technol. 40:1934-1941. 
 
 
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Modelling the chemical speciation of trace metals in surface waters of the river Zenne

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