Biodegradation

, Volume 18, Issue 3, pp 283–293 | Cite as

Effect of surfactants on plasticizer biodegradation by Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633

  • Adam R. Grochowalski
  • David G. Cooper
  • Jim A. Nicell
ORIGINAL PAPER
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The biodegradation of plasticizers has been previously shown to result in the accumulation of metabolites that are more toxic than the initial compound. The present work shows that the pattern of degradation of di-2-ethylhexyl adipate by Bacillus subtilis can be significantly altered by the presence of biosurfactants, such as surfactin, or synthetic surfactants, such as Pluronic L122. In particular, this work confirms that the monoester, mono-2-ethylhexyl adipate, is a metabolite in the breakdown of the plasticizer. This metabolite was proposed but not observed in earlier studies. Toxicity measurements showed it to be significantly more toxic than the plasticizer. Thus, the effect of the surfactants was to significantly increase the accumulation of one or both of the two most toxic metabolites; i.e., the monoester and 2-ethylhexanol. It was proposed that the most likely cause of the effect of the surfactants was the sequestering of these two metabolites into mixed micelles, resulting in their reduced availability for further degradation.

Keywords

Biodegradation DEHA 2-Ethylhexanol Mono-2-ethylhexyl adipate Plasticizer Surfactant 
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Notes

Acknowledgement

The financial support of the EJLB Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006

Authors and Affiliations

  • Adam R. Grochowalski
    • 1
  • David G. Cooper
    • 1
  • Jim A. Nicell
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Chemical EngineeringMcGill UniversityMontrealCanada
  2. 2.Department of Civil Engineering and Applied MechanicsMcGill UniversityMontrealCanada

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