Abstract

Unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs) of hydrocarbons are the pollutants of serious concern commonly occurring in most of the environments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. UCMs constitute a relatively unidentified group of compounds compared to the well-resolved hydrocarbons that could easily be identified by the modern chromatographic methods. UCMs that accumulate in the environment cause several toxicological effects of ecological significance, and indirectly affect the human health. Despite decades-long efforts to provide adequate information in this area of research, the fate and environmental impacts of UCMs of petroleum hydrocarbons are poorly understood. Techniques for extraction and analysis of UCMs in the environment are very important in their identification and quantification. Also, remediation of toxic UCMs of petroleum hydrocarbons is all the more essential. In fact, UCMs are often neglected in the risk assessments due to lack of proper identification methods and toxicity data. This critical review presents an overview of our current knowledge on the environmental occurrence, sources, separation, and identification methods for UCMs. The ecological toxicity of UCMs toward the biota and the strategies for remediation of the environments contaminated with UCMs have also been discussed in detail.

摘要

未解析的碳氢化合物复杂混合物 (UCM) 是严重关注的污染物，通常出现在大多数被石油碳氢化合物污染的环境中。与可以通过现代色谱方法轻松识别的解析良好的碳氢化合物相比，UCM 构成了一组相对未知的化合物。在环境中积累的 UCM 会导致多种具有生态意义的毒理学效应，并间接影响人类健康。尽管数十年来努力在该研究领域提供足够的信息，但人们对石油烃的 UCM 的归宿和环境影响知之甚少。环境中 UCM 的提取和分析技术对于它们的鉴定和定量非常重要。还，石油烃的有毒 UCM 的修复尤为重要。事实上，由于缺乏适当的识别方法和毒性数据，UCMs 在风险评估中经常被忽视。这篇批判性评论概述了我们目前对 UCM 的环境发生、来源、分离和识别方法的了解。还详细讨论了 UCMs 对生物群的生态毒性和修复 UCMs 污染环境的策略。