Acute toxicity of anionic and non-ionic surfactants to aquatic organisms.

The environmental risk of surfactants requires toxicity measurements. As different test organisms have different sensitivity to the toxics, it is necessary to establish the most appropriate organism to classify the surfactant as very toxic, toxic, harmful or safe, in order to establish the maximum permissible concentrations in aquatic ecosystems. We have determined the toxicity values of various anionic surfactants ether carboxylic derivatives using four test organisms: the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna, the luminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri, the microalgae Selenastrum capricornutum (freshwater algae) and Phaeodactylum tricornutum (seawater algae). In addition, in order to compare and classify the different families of surfactants, we have included a compilation of toxicity data of surfactants collected from literature. The results indicated that V. fischeri was more sensitive to the toxic effects of the surfactants than was D. magna or the microalgae, which was the least sensitive. This result shows that the most suitable toxicity assay for surfactants may be the one using V. fischeri. The toxicity data revealed considerable variation in toxicity responses with the structure of the surfactants regardless of the species tested. The toxicity data have been related to the structure of the surfactants, giving a mathematical relationship that helps to predict the toxic potential of a surfactant from its structure. Model-predicted toxicity agreed well with toxicity values reported in the literature for several surfactants previously studied. Predictive models of toxicity is a handy tool for providing a risk assessment that can be useful to establish the toxicity range for each surfactant and the different test organisms in order to select efficient surfactants with a lower impact on the aquatic environment.

Acute toxicity of alkylpolyglucosides to Vibrio fischeri, Daphnia magna and microalgae: a comparative study.

In this paper, toxicity values of alkylpolyglucosides have been determined by applying the 24-h immobilization test with Daphnia magna, the LumiStox(®) 300 test which employs the luminescent bacteria Photobacterium phosphoreum and the test with Selenastrum capricornutum. Three alkylpolyglucosides with different alkyl chain and degree of polymerisation have been tested. For all tests, the results indicated that Vibrio fischeri was more sensitive to toxic effects from alkylpolyglucosides than was D. magna or S. capricornutum. The results demonstrate considerable variation in toxicity responses within structurally related glucose-based surfactants regardless of the species tested. The toxicity increased as the critical micelle concentration decreased, and as the alkyl chain length and resultant hydrophobicity increased.

Effect of concentration on the primary and ultimate biodegradation of alkylpolyglucosides in aerobic biodegradation tests.

This study examines the primary and ultimate biodegradation of a non-ionic surfactant, an alkylpolyglucoside, in ready biodegradability tests. The surfactant concentration was tested by the anthrone method, while the ultimate biodegradation (mineralization) was analyzed by the total organic carbon determinations. The influence of the concentration on the extent of primary and ultimate biodegradation and the kinetics of degradation also were determined. The primary and ultimate biodegradation was studied at different initial concentrations-15, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/L. The increasing concentration of test chemical from 15 to 100 mg/L resulted in a decrease in the relative maximum mineralization rate and longer estimated lag times by a factor of approximately 4.3. During the degradative process, two different stages were noted; these are better described with Quiroga and first-order kinetic models, respectively. For the study of the influence of concentration, the parameters characteristic of the biodegradation profiles in the different biodegradation assays were evaluated.

Acute toxicity and relationship between metabolites and ecotoxicity during the biodegradation process of non-ionic surfactants: fatty-alcohol ethoxylates, nonylphenol polyethoxylate and alkylpolyglucosides.

The toxicity values of fatty-alcohol ethoxylates, nonylphenol polyethoxylate, and alkylpolyglucosides have been determined by applying assays with luminescent bacteria. Also, the relation between metabolites and ecotoxicity during the biodegradation process has been determined. The biodegradation tests were carried out according to the OECD 301 E test for ready biodegradability. In these tests a solution of the surfactant, representing the sole carbon source for the microorganisms, was tested in a mineral medium, inoculated and incubated under aerobic conditions in the dark. The toxicity of surfactants is related to their molecular structure (Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships, QSAR). For the alkylpolyglucosides, toxicity expressed as EC(50) is related with the critical micelle concentration (CMC), the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of the surfactant, and the hydrophobic alkyl chain (R). The results indicate that toxicity increased as the CMC decreased and as the hydrophobicity increased and R rose. For fatty-alcohol ethoxylates, parameters characteristic studied have been HLB, number of units of ethylene oxide and the alkyl chain length. Relationships found are in agreement with the fact that increasing the alkyl chain length leads to a lower EC(50), whereas increasing ethoxylation leads to a lower toxicity. An analysis of the behaviour of the toxicity and HLB again indicates that the toxicity was greater for surfactants with a smaller HLB. The evolution of the toxicity was studied over the biodegradation process, expressed as a percentage of inhibition. For all the non-ionic surfactants assayed, except for the nonylphenol polyethoxylate, a major decline was found in toxicity during the first days of the biodegradation assay and at all the concentrations tested.

Simplified spectrophotometric method using methylene blue for determining anionic surfactants: applications to the study of primary biodegradation in aerobic screening tests.

In the present work, we propose a simplified spectrophotometric method for determining anionic surfactants, based on the formation of the ionic pair anionic surfactant-methylene blue (AS-MB). This method, in relation to the conventional analytic procedure, considerably reduces not only the quantity of chloroform used in extracting the ionic pair formed, but also the time and the quantity of sample necessary to perform the assay, eliminating the filtration stage. The method has been simplified by displacing the transfer equilibrium of the ionic pair AS-MB towards the organic phase, augmenting the volumetric relationship of chloroform/sample. The method proposed has been applied in the study of primary biodegradation kinetics of linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS).