Testing of some assumptions about biodegradability in soil as measured by carbon dioxide evolution

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Applied and Environmental Microbiology; (United States)

OSTI ID:6591703

El-Din Sharabi, N; Bartha, R ^[1]

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1. Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States)

The Toxic Substance Control Act calls for a premanufacturing review of novel chemical substances including their biodegradability. Carbon dioxide evolution, using non-labeled carbon or [sup 14]C, is a common method of testing. This study examines assumptions of carbon dioxide evolution testing. Test substances used included: glucose, adipic acid, benzoic acid, and n-hexadecane. Chemical composition other than carbon content appears to influence minimally the percentages conversion to CO[sub 2]. However, that although CO[sub 2] evolution seemed proportional to the carbon content and concentration of the test substance, at least one-half of the evolved net CO[sub 2] did not come directly from the test substance. Conversion to CO[sub 2] in the soil appeared to depend on carbon content only. In experiments of 1 month or longer, the net CO[sub 2] evolution in response to substrate may be above 100% of the added substrate carbon. Whether this applies to all substrate additions remains to be studied. The authors conclude that net CO[sub 2] and [sup 14]CO[sub 2] evolution measurements are useful as a first-tier tests for assessing biodegradability in soil. 11 refs., 6 figs.

• OSTI ID: 6591703
• Journal Information: Applied and Environmental Microbiology; (United States), Vol. 59:4; ISSN 0099-2240
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
CARBON DIOXIDE
EMISSION
POLLUTANTS
BIODEGRADATION
ADIPIC ACID
BENZOIC ACID
BIOCONVERSION
CARBON 14
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
GLUCOSE
HEXADECANE
SOILS
TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT
ALDEHYDES
ALKANES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CARBOHYDRATES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON ISOTOPES
CARBON OXIDES
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
DICARBOXYLIC ACIDS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEXOSES
HYDROCARBONS
ISOTOPES
LAWS
LIGHT NUCLEI
MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS
MONOSACCHARIDES
NUCLEI
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOISOTOPES
SACCHARIDES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
540220* - Environment
Terrestrial- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology