Experiments on Inherent Biodegradability

Probably most investigations have been carried out in conventional batch cultures, but attention should be drawn to an attractive and flexible procedure using a cyclone fermentor (Liu et al. 1981). 

In the most widely applied procedures, the test system is restricted in flexibility by the salinity and pH requirements of the test organisms, but probably the most serious limitation of these test systems 

In a study of the degradation of sodium dodecyltriethoxy sulfate under mixed-culture die-away conditions using acclimated cultures (Griffiths et al. 1986), the metabolites were identified and the kinetics of their synthesis compared with the degradation pathways elucidated in investigations using pure cultures (Hales et al. 1982,1986). 

The biodegradation of branched-chain alkanol ethoxyethylates was carried out by the standard OECD confirmatory tests and the metabolites fractionated after solid-phase extraction. The structures of the metabolites were determined by electrospray mass spectrometry and this made it possible to derive a scheme for the partial degradation of the compounds (Di Corcia et al. 1998). 

These procedures could advantageously receive general application. 

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