Biodegradation of different carboxylate types of cleavable surfactants bearing a 1,3-dioxolane ring

The biodegradability of new carboxylate types of “acid-sensitive” cleavable surfactants bearing a 1,3-dioxolane ring was measured by the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) method in the presence of activated sludge. The result for sodium dodecanoate, measured under the same conditions, was used as a standard for evaluating the biodegradability of these cleavable surfactants. For cleavable surfactants derived from epoxides and oxocarboxylates, the biodegradation was considerably influenced by the length of the lipophilic alkyl chain, the presence of the oxymethyl moiety in the lipophilic group, and the number of methylene units between the dioxolane ring and the carboxylate group. For another type of cleavable surfactant, 2-(long-chain alkyl)-1,3-dioxolane-4,5-dicarboxylate, the biodegradation rate for the compound, bearing a proton at position 2 in the dioxolane ring, is faster than that for the corresponding compound bearing a methyl group at position 2.