The abundance of Au, Pt, Pd, and the mode of heavy metal fixation in highly polluted sediments from the Rhine River near Mainz, West Germany

Abstract

The Au, Pt and Pd contents of the sediments of Ginsheimer‐Altrhine River, a channel of the Rhine river which drains one of the most industrialized regions of western Europe, have been determined by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The abundances of these noble metals range from 96–460 ppb Au; 734 ppb‐31 ppm Pt and 32 ppb‐4 ppm Pd. The extremely high concentrations, particulary those of Pt and Pd, are attributed to their use in industry and are due to the formation and concentration of metal‐organic complexes, mainly at the interface between an extremely reducing and an oxidizing aquatic environment. Differential thermal analyses of the polluted sediments in comparison to the pure humic acid and Fe‐humate complex show that humic and fulvic acids are of great importance in the transport of heavy metals in polluted stream sediments.