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Sorption, Aerobic Biodegradation, and Oxidation Potential of PFOS Alternatives Chlorinated Polyfluoroalkyl Ether
Hong Chen1,2, Youn Jeong Choi2, Linda S Lee2
1Key Laboratory of Coastal Ecology and Environment of State Oceanic Administration, Department of Marine Chemistry , National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center , Linghe Street 42 , Dalian 116023 , China.
Abstract:
Global phase out of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) has led to increasing production of alternatives such as the chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acids (Cl-PFESAs) for which little is known on their environmental fate. In this study, sorption by soils, aerobic soil biodegradation, and oxidation potential of 6:2 Cl-PFESA (9-chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanonane-1-sulfonate) and 8:2 Cl-PFESA (9-chlorooctadecafluoro-3-oxanonane-1-sulfonate) were evaluated. 6:2 Cl-PFESA sorption was quantified for aqueous and acetone/water solutions, whereas 8:2 PFESA could only be accurately measured in acetone/water solutions. The log-linear cosolvency model was applied and validated to estimate sorption of 8:2 Cl-PFESA. Only soil organic carbon (OC, 0.76-4.30%) was highly and positively correlated to sorption of the Cl-PFESAs ( R2 > 0.96). The resulting log Koc values (OC-normalized sorption coefficients) are 4.01 ± 0.09 ( n = 6) and 5.54 ± 0.05 ( n = 4) L kg-1 for 6:2 Cl-PFESA and 8:2 Cl-PFESA, respectively. Aerobic biodegradation in a loam soil at 24 ± 0.5 °C showed negligible degradation of both Cl-PFESAs. Cl-PFESAs also remained unchanged in an unbuffered heat (50 °C)-activated 42 mM persulfate oxidation treatment. Therefore, Cl-PFESAs are equally recalcitrant as PFOS in addition to being more sorptive, thus with a higher bioaccumulation potential for a similar alkyl chain length.
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