3-(D-gluconoylamino)propyl(2-hydroxyethyl)dimethylammonium chloride

Biodegradation in water: screening tests

Link to relevant study record(s)

Reference

Endpoint:

biodegradation in water: ready biodegradability

Type of information:

experimental study

Adequacy of study:

key study

Reliability:

1 (reliable without restriction)

Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:

guideline study

Qualifier:

according to guideline

Guideline:

OECD Guideline 301 B (Ready Biodegradability: CO2 Evolution Test)

Version / remarks:

adopted July 17, 1992

Deviations:

no

GLP compliance:

yes (incl. QA statement)

Specific details on test material used for the study:

Test item 207516/A
Identification Quaternium-22
Appearance Brown paste (determined by Charles River Den Bosch)
Batch 0001954895
Purity/Composition > 90%
Test item storage In refrigerator (2-8°C)
Stable under storage conditions until 16 June 2017 (retest date)

Oxygen conditions:

aerobic

Inoculum or test system:

activated sludge, domestic (adaptation not specified)

Details on inoculum:

The source of test organisms was activated sludge freshly obtained from a municipal sewage treatment plant: 'Waterschap Aa en Maas', 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, receiving predominantly domestic sewage.
The freshly obtained sludge was used immediately. The concentration of suspended solids was determined to be 3.5 g/L in the concentrated sludge. Before use, the sludge was allowed to settle (30 minutes) and the supernatant liquid was used as inoculum at the amount of 10 mL/L of mineral medium.

Duration of test (contact time):

42 d

Initial conc.:

32 mg/L

Based on:

test mat.

Remarks:

The test item was tested in duplicate at a target concentration of 32 mg/L, corresponding to 12 mg TOC/L.

Parameter followed for biodegradation estimation:

CO2 evolution

Details on study design:

Test duration:
- 42 days for the inoculum blank and test item (last CO2measurement on day 43).
- 14 days for the positive and toxicity control (last CO2 measurement on day 15).
Test vessels: 2 litre brown coloured glass bottles.
Pre-incubation medium: The day before the start of the test (day -1) mineral components, Milli-RO water (ca. 80% of final volume) and
inoculum (1% of final volume) were added to each bottle. This mixture was aerated with synthetic CO2-free air overnight to purge the system of CO2.
Type and number of bottles: 2 bottles for each for of test item suspension:or blank with inoculum; 1 bottle for the Positive control: containing reference item and inoculum or the toxicity control containing reference item with test item and inoculum
Preparation: At the start of the test (day 0), test and reference item were added to the bottles containing the microbial organisms and mineral components. The volumes of suspensions were made up to 2 litres with Milli-RO water, resulting in the mineral medium described before. Three CO2-absorbers (bottles filled with 100 mL 0.0125 M Ba(OH)2) were connected in series to the exit airline of each test bottle.
Determination of CO2:
The CO2 produced in each test bottle reacted with the barium hydroxide in the gas scrubbing bottle and precipitated out as barium carbonate. The amount of CO2 produced was determined by titrating the remaining Ba(OH)2 with 0.05 M standardized HCl (1:20 dilution from 1 M HCl (Titrisol® ampoule), Merck, Darmstadt, Germany). Test item titrations were made on day 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 25, 28, 35, and 43.
On the penultimate day, the pH of respective test suspensions was measured and 1 mL of concentrated HCl (37%, Merck) was added to the bottles of the inoculum blank and test suspension. The bottles were aerated overnight to drive off CO2 present in the test suspension.
The final titration was made on day 15 for positive and toxicity control, and on day 43 for the remaining vessels.

Reference substance:

acetic acid, sodium salt

Key result

Parameter:

% degradation (CO2 evolution)

Remarks:

Based on measurements of two separate bottles.

Value:

67

St. dev.:

7

Sampling time:

42 d

Results with reference substance:

> 80% within 15 days.

Validity criteria fulfilled:

yes

Interpretation of results:

inherently biodegradable, fulfilling specific criteria

Remarks:

k1st order = 0.0173x, R² = 0.9703

Conclusions:

Quaternium-22 was designated as not readily biodegradable while the results do support an inherent biodegradability claim. As a consequence, Quaternium-22 should be considered as non-persistent in the environment.

Description of key information

A guideline study resulted in relative biodegradation values of 74% and 59% biodegradation in duplicate bottles during a test period of 42 days.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Biodegradation in water:

inherently biodegradable, fulfilling specific criteria

Additional information

Quaternium-22 was designated as not readily biodegradable while the results do support an inherent biodegradability claim. As a consequence, Quaternium-22 should be considered as non-persistent in the environment.