Abstract
Toluene is the predominant aromatic compound in freshwater lakes in Central Europe1–3 and sea water4–6. Its concentrations exceed those of the xylene and ethyltoluene isomers both of which also occur in a comparable concentration range. Toluene is also the most important aromatic compound in the air of Europe7, North America8 and Australia9. Anthropogenic sources are held to be responsible for the high concentrations of toluene in water and air. Significant amounts have been introduced by oil spillage, emissions of petrol and diesel fuelled vehicles and other combustion processes10,11. Toluene is therefore often used as a measure of pollution. We report here that while investigating the VOC (volatile organic compounds) in a stratified lake, we found that appreciable amounts of toluene can also be biogenically produced in the anoxic hypolimnion.
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Jüttner, F., Henatsch, J. Anoxic hypolimnion is a significant source of biogenic toluene. Nature 323, 797–798 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323797a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323797a0
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