Detergentes Impacto Ambiental.

First, surfactants and phosphates, as the main components of detergent formulations

and cleaning products, have been the subject of longstanding and ongoing
detergent regulation and legislation. Second, efficient management has been imposed
on sewage treatment, which is being updated continuously. A better understanding of
this multidimensional input/output interaction is needed.
The efficacy of a sewage treatment is evaluated by different parameters, such as
_ BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), which registers the biodegradable organic
matter present
_ COD (chemical oxygen demand)
_ TOC (total organic carbon)
However, the most significant parameter is the direct measurement of the pollutant
levels, mainly surfactant and phosphate concentrations.
Highly sensitive analytical test methods have been developed for the accurate
determination of surfactant concentration [3,4]. Anionic surfactants are determined as
methylene blueactive substances (MBAS) by a method based on a modified Epton
two-phase titration. Nonionic surfactants are determined as bismuth-active substances
(BiAS) after passage through cation and anion exchange columns.
Cationic surfactants are determined as disulfide blueactive substances
(DSBAS).
Strict implementation of detergent regulations combined with effective sewage
treatment hes led to low surfactant concentrations in large rivers, such as those in the
Rhine, which currently are as follows [2]:
Anionic surfactants, about 0.05 mg/L MBAS (linear alkylbenzene sulfonates)
Anionic surfactants, less than 0.01 mg/L LAS
Nonionic surfactants, less than 0.01 mg/L BiAS
Cationic surfactants, less than 0.01 mg/L DSBAS

Biodegradacion
Biodegradation is the process by which microorganisms in the environment convert
complex materials into simpler compounds that are used as food for energy and
growth. Biodegradation of the surfactants used in detergents is important because of
the large volumes used worldwide and, of course, the detrimental toxic effects on the
aqueous and soil environments.
Biodegradation is a multistep process that starts with the transformation of the
parent compound into a first degradation product (primary degradation) and leading,
ultimately, to mineralization products (carbon dioxide, water) and bacterial biomass
(ultimate or total degradation). A typical surfactant biodegradation is illustrated by the linear
alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) biodegradation path in Figure A good understating of past and
present biodegradation issues requires precise definitions of biodegradability terms
[5,10,11].
Primary biodegradability is the change in the chemical structure of an organic
substance, resulting from a biological action that causes the loss of the specific
chemical and physical properties of the substance. When this stage of
biodegradation is reached, the remaining material is no longer a surfactant;
it no longer has any surface-active properties, including the ability to foam.
Ultimate biodegradability in the presence of oxygen (aerobic conditions) represents

the total level of degradation by which a test substance is consumed by microorganisms

to produce carbon dioxide, water, mineral salts, and constituents of
microbe cells (biomass).
Ready biodegradability is an arbitrary classification for chemical compounds that
satisfy immediate biodegradability tests. The severity of the tests (biodegradation
and acclimation time) ensures that such compounds will degrade
quickly and completely in an aquatic environment under aerobic conditions.
Biodegradabilidad requerimientos y metodos de prueba.
Separation of anionics and nonionics from a detergent com- position is required prior to
biological testing to eliminate artifacts or interfering interactions.
The results are reported as%(loss) MBAS for anionics and%(loss) BiAS
for nonionic. The disappearance of the specific analytical species corresponds to the
loss of signficant ecological surface activity.
The ecological concerns of the 1970s are reflected in the following quotation
from Council Directive 73/404/EEC [13]:
The pollutant effects of detergents on waters, namely the formation of foam in
large quantities, restricts contact between water and air, renders oxygenation
difficult, causes inconvenience to navigation, impairs the photosynthesis
necessary to the life of aquatic flora, exercises unfavorable influence on the
various stages of processes for the purification of wastewaters, causes damage
to wastewater purification plants, and constitutes an indirect microbiological
risk due to the possible transference of bacteria and viruses.
In 1973, two biological tests were approved and mandated by the OECD
(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) for establishing biodegradability
[13,14]:
1. OECD Screening Test
2. OECD Confirmatory Test
The MBAS or BiAS losses are compared with two reference surfactants: the readily
biodegradable LAS (92% loss) and poorly biodegradable DDBS (less than 35% loss).
According to this
screening test, primary biodegradation (given by% MBAS/BiAS removal) of several
anionic surfactants, such as C1418 a-olefinesulfonates, C1618 fatty alcohol sulfates, C12
13 oxo alcohol sulfates, and C1618 a-sulfo fatty acid methyl esters, was found to
be 99%, while LABS and DDBS showed a primary biodegradation of 95% and 8
25%, respectively.
The OECD Confirmatory Test, known also as simulation test, is a continuous
procedure run under more realistic environmental conditions, simulating activated
sludge plants, as shown in Figure 2 [14]. The Confirmatory Test can simulate several
types of environment, such as lake, sea, and land, and can be run under aerobic or
anaerobic conditions conditions [10]. In this procedure a solution of MBAS (20mg/L)
or BiAS (10 mg/L) in a synthetic sewage water (containing 110 mg/L meat extract,
160 mg/L peptone, 30 mg/L urea, 7 mg/L NaCl, 4 mg/L CaCl 2.2H2O, and 2 mg/L
MgSO4.7H2O) is continuously fed into the plant model during a retention time of
3 hours. After inoculation of the test system and growth of the activated sludge,
an acclimation period is run, following a predetermined procedure. After a minimum
14 days, the degradation rate reaches a plateau for readily biodegradable surfactants,
while an irregular curve, with ups and downs of low biodegradation rate, is shown by
hard surfactants. This initial period is followed by a 21-day evaluation period in

which the high-biodegradation-rate plateau is maintained by the readily biodegradable

substance.
Typical primary surfactant biodegradations found by the OECD Confirmatory
Test as MBAS/BiAS/DSBAS for anionic/nonionic/cationic surfactants are given in