Registration Dossier
Registration Dossier
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EC number: 203-950-6 | CAS number: 112-24-3
Biodegradation in water: screening tests
Administrative data
Link to relevant study record(s)
Description of key information
two ready biodegradation test results, one inherent biodegradation test result and one research result on the use of TETA as sole nitrogen source for microorganisms.
Key value for chemical safety assessment
Additional information
TETA is not biodegraded in (standard and prolonged) Closed Bottle test and should therefore not be classified as readily biodegradable(Biodegradation of various polyethylene amines,van Ginkel 1990; Biodegradation of triethylenetetramine TETA, van Ginkel 1990).Toxicity of TETA to the competent microorganisms and the stringency of the test procedures could account for the recalcitrance of TETA in the Closed Bottle test. Results obtained in the Semi-Continuous Activated Sludge (SCAS) test (inherent biodegradability test) also illustrate that TETA is not completely (ultimately) biodegradable through growth-linked processes. The partial removal of TETA in the SCAS test was attributed to adsorption onto the activated sludge particles. (removal of triethylenetetraamine in the SCAS test, van Ginkel 1992). It is unlikely that growth linked biodegradation of TETA will occur in the environment.
However, co-metabolic transformation of TETA has been demonstrated in batchexperiments. In these experiments TETA was used as sole nitrogen source. Various natural organic compounds may act as carbon source. The decrease of TETA coincided with the accumulation of a degradation product, which indicates that TETA is not completely oxidized.
This finding demonstrates that TETA can be utilized by microorganisms as nitrogen source in the environment.(Triethylenetetramine as a sole source of nitrogen for microbial growth, van Ginkel 1992).
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