Registration Dossier
Registration Dossier
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EC number: 203-481-7 | CAS number: 107-31-3
Henry's Law constant
Administrative data
Link to relevant study record(s)
Description of key information
From the water surface, methyl formate will slowly evaporate into the atmosphere. The hydrolysis products methanol and formic acid are not expected to significantly volatilize from the aquatic compartment.
Key value for chemical safety assessment
Additional information
Parent compound (CAS 107-31-3)
QSAR-disclaimer
In Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, it is laid down that information on intrinsic properties of substances may be generated by means other than tests, provided that the conditions set out in Annex XI (of the same Regulation) are met.
According to Annex XI of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (Q)SAR results can be used if (1) the scientific validity of the (Q)SAR model has been established, (2) the substance falls within the applicability domain of the (Q)SAR model, (3) the results are adequate for the purpose of classification and labeling and/or risk assessment and (4) adequate and reliable documentation of the applied method is provided.
For the assessment of methyl fornate (Q)SAR results were used for the estimation of the Henry’s Law constant. The criteria listed in Annex XI of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 are considered to be adequately fulfilled and therefore the endpoint(s) sufficiently covered and suitable for risk assessment.
Assessment
The Henry's Law Constant (HLC) of methyl formate was determined to be 22.6 Pa m³/mol at 25 °C (BASF AG, 2006). Additionally, the Henry's Law Constant (HLC) of the substance was calculated with EPI Suite v4.11, HENRYWIN v3.20 using the bond estimation method. The HLC of methyl formate was estimated to be 24.3 Pa m³/mol at 25 °C (BASF SE, 2021). The substance was within the applicability domain of the estimation model.
According to the available hydrolysis study for the substance, Methyl formates' susceptibility to hydrolysis increases with pH as well as with temperature. The hydrolysis half-life ranges from 410 h at pH 4 and 20 °C to less than 1 hour at pH 9 and 25 °C (OECD 111, BASF SE, 2010). Therefore, it can be concluded, that under environmentally relevant conditions (pH 7-9) the rapid hydrolysis will be the major fate process of the methyl formate due to the short half-life in aqueous solution. Therefore, the assessment of the environmental fate of the substance is also performed for the hydrolytic products: formic acid and methanol.
Hydrolysis product formic acid (CAS 64-18-6):
With a Henry’s law constant of 0.019 Pa m³/mol the hydrolysis product formic acid is not expected to significantly volatilize from the aquatic compartment (Khan et al.1995).
Hydrolysis product methanol (CAS 67-56-1):
With a Henry’s law constant of 0.461 Pa m³/mol (or: 220 mol/L*atm), the hydrolysis product methanol is not expected to significantly volatilize from the aquatic compartment (Gaffney et al., 1987).
Overall, it can be concluded that, based on the available experimental data, from the water surface, methyl formate will slowly evaporate into the atmosphere. The hydrolysis products methanol and formic acid are not expected to significantly volatilize from the aquatic compartment.
Information on Registered Substances comes from registration dossiers which have been assigned a registration number. The assignment of a registration number does however not guarantee that the information in the dossier is correct or that the dossier is compliant with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (the REACH Regulation). This information has not been reviewed or verified by the Agency or any other authority. The content is subject to change without prior notice.
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