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Determination of Hydrocarbons in Marine Core Sediments off Kuala Sedili,
Johor
Raihanah Na Ilah binti Ruzani
Supervisor: Prof Dr. Norhayati Mohd Tahir
Bachelor of Science (Analytical and Environmental Chemistry)
School of Marine and Environmental Sciences
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Marine core sediment samples collected from two locations at Kuala Sedili, Johor were
analyzed for TOC, n-alkanes and PAHs in order to assess the distribution of
hydrocarbons and their respective sources of input. TOC were determined using
Walkley-Black titration. Sediments were solvent extracted using ultrasonic agitation
followed by removal of acidic lipids, then the neutral lipids were separated into n-
alkanes and PAHs fractions and analyzed by GC-MS. The molecular markers used in
identifying n-alkanes’ sources were CPI, Cmax, OEP and Paq. Molecular indices used
for PAHs were Ant/(Ant+Phe), Fla/(Fla+Pyr), BaA/(BaA+Chry) and Ind/(Ind+BghiP).
The levels of n-alkanes in both locations were relatively low and considered
uncontaminated while the level of PAHs in the sediments were classified as low to
moderate contamination. Using known diagnostic ratios for identification of sources
for hydrocarbons, n-alkanes are mainly derived from biogenic inputs while most of the
PAHs are from anthropogenic source.
1968 | UMT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY 2018