The DOI matches its Crossref record; 42 of the 42 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Investigating the biodegradability of perfluorooctanoic acid
Abstract
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is an industrial chemical that has become disseminated globally in aquatic and terrestrial habitats, humans, and wildlife. Understanding PFOA's biodegradability (susceptibility to microbial metabolic attack) is a crucial element in developing an informed strategy for predicting and managing this compound's environmental fate. Reasoning that PFOA might be susceptible to reductive defluorination by anaerobic microbial communities, we embarked on a 2-phase experimental approach examining the potential of five different microbial communities (from a municipal waste-water treatment plant, industrial site sediment, an agricultural soil, and soils from two fire training areas) to alter PFOA's molecular structure. A series of primarily anaerobic incubations (up to 259d in duration) were established with acetate, lactate, ethanol, and/or hydrogen gas as electron donors and PFOA (at concentrations of 100 ppm and 100 ppb) as the electron acceptor. Cometabolism of PFOA during reductive dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) and during reduction of nitrate, iron, sulfate, and methanogenesis were also examined. Endpoints of potential PFOA transformation included release of fluoride and detection of potential transformation products by LC/Orbitrap MS and LC/accurate radioisotope counting in a (14)C radiotracer study. The strongest indication of PFOA transformation occurred during its potential cometabolism at the 100 ppb concentration during reductive dechlori…
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“PFAS are seriously persistent to environmental degradation processes (i.e., not readily biodegradable) [3,11,12]”
From A Mini-Review of Full-Scale Drinking Water Treatment Plants for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Removal: Possible Solutions and Future Directions (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Liou, J. S.-C., Szostek, B., DeRito, C. M., & Madsen, E. L.
- Affiliations
- Cornell University (US)
- DuPont (United States) (US)
- Corresponding author
- Madsen, E.L.
- Venue
- Chemosphere
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-06
- Volume
- 80
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 176-183
- ISSN
- 0045-6535 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2035382121
- Cited by
- 191
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 4.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Chemosphere (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Environmental Chemistry and Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants
- Keywords
- perfluorooctanoic acid, biodegradability, reductive defluorination, anaerobic microbial communities, cometabolism, reductive dechlorination, trichloroethylene, degradation intermediates, fluoride release, environmental persistence, wastewater treatment plants, soil, electron donors
- MeSH terms
- Bacteria, Biodegradation, Environmental, Caprylates, Environmental Pollutants, Fluorocarbons, Fungi, Microbiological Phenomena
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